The steel city is re-enforcing its pay-and-park rules, gone haywire during the prolonged lockdown, with the civic authorities beginning work on issuing fresh parking contracts to agencies that man the parking lots.

Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), the civic body under whose watch parking fees are collected, began issuing tenders for the process on Monday.

JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar said, “Over a dozen interested parties have expressed interest. Once the successful bidders are shortlisted, we will give out the contracts." said Kumar while talking to The Telegraph Online.

The new parking system would be in place by Wednesday. The fresh parking contracts will remain valid up to March 31, 2021. Asked if new localities would be added, Kumar said they were looking into.

Parking at public places is maintained by the JNAC through contractors at Bistupur and Sakchi areas only. At Bistupur, paid parking was in place on Bistupur Main Road, near Jubilee ark, Ram Mandir branch of HDFC Bank, near PM High-tech Mall on OC Road, General Post Office, State Bank of India and Kamani Centre.

At Sakchi, the parking system was implemented on Kalimati Road, Sakchi Market and the Sakchi branch of HDFC Bank.

The charges were Rs 10 for two-wheelers and Rs 20 for four-wheelers. The system was welcomed by all. "Keeping my vehicle parked under the watch of an attendant was always safe. But now, I find it risky to park my bike unguarded before going shopping at Sakchi," said Amit Kumar Jha, a resident of Mango.

JNAC sources said the existing parking system ceased to function during the lockdown as the existing contracts lapsed on March 31 and no fresh tenders could be issued. Some contractors would continue to collect parking charges in Bistupur and Sakchi, but this system too fell through.