A parking lot under the Gariahat flyover, which has remained closed since around Diwali, is set to reopen this week.
The parking lot, located between the Gariahat and Golpark crossings, can accommodate about 60 cars, said a police officer.
“The existing parking rates — Rs 10 an hour for four-wheelers and Rs 5 an hour for two-wheelers — will be charged,” said an official of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
The agency that had won the right from the KMC to manage the parking lot withdrew after expressing its inability to do the job.
The civic body then approached other agencies involved in the bidding process. One of them has now bagged the right.
“The parking lot under the Gariahat flyover can open any day this week. We have chosen a new agency that will run the lot,” said an official of the KMC.
Gariahat, being a busy intersection and a shopping hub, always witnesses a high demand for car parking space. The closure of an easily accessible parking lot only compounds the problems of visitors.
The problem is felt more acutely on weekends.
Guardrails used by police to restrict traffic or cordon off any zone have been placed around the parking lot under the flyover so that no car can park there. The agency that was running the parking lot was supposed to pay Rs 4.5 lakh to the KMC each month. “But they informed the KMC that they were not being able to recover the money and make a profit. So they withdrew,” said a KMC official.
Agencies that bag the right to run a parking lot have to pay a lump sum to the KMC and recover the cost and make a profit.
“The rule says that when an agency running a parking lot withdraws, we have to ask others who participated in the tender process to submit bids. We were looking for a hike from what the KMC was getting from the last agency. Only one agency agreed to pay Rs 4.55 lakh. We have chosen them to run the lot,” said the official.
The new agency will not be able to charge the new parking rates, which are higher than the existing ones. The new rates have not become effective yet.
