The Trinamul-led board in Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) is taking an initiative to develop parking spaces for vehicles in the largest city of north Bengal plagued by traffic snarls.

Toward streamlining traffic, The SMC has also drawn up plans to create new bus terminus in the northern and southern parts of Siliguri.

The paucity of parking spaces and traffic congestion are two main problems that lakhs of residents and visitors face in the city every day.

As a part of the plan, Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb laid the foundation of a six-storey building near Panitanki More of the city on Tuesday.

The SMC, he said, would spend around Rs 7 crore for the building, which is spread over 42,000 square feet.

“The ground floor will be kept only for parking. The building will also have 68 rooms with a banquet hall where various events can be hosted,” said Deb.

Ranjan Sarkar, the deputy mayor, said that around 50 vehicles could be parked at the proposed building near Panitanki More.

“We are readying another parking area next to the TB Hospital, which is in a bylane off Sevoke Road where around 100 vehicles can be parked at a time. Also, some other spots like the area next to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, the Subhashpally market (for two-wheelers) and Station Feeder Road have been identified to build parking lots,” said deputy mayor Sarkar.

The civic body, in association with the state transport department, the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA), and the civil and police administration, has also planned to shift certain buses to new locations to reduce traffic snarls.

“We will clear the traffic congestion near the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus. All the long-distance buses will be shifted to Paribahan Nagar in Matigara. Buses that run on local routes (within the Siliguri subdivision) will be shifted to a terminus in Tinbatti More,” said mayor Deb.

The SJDA will also thoroughly refurbish the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus, the largest bus terminus of the city, the mayor added.