Parking project at Solan to see light of day after six years

Ambika Sharma

Solan, May 31

After remaining suspended for nearly six years, an upcoming parking project at the Railway Road in Solan has received the pending funds for its completion.

The under-construction parking lot had been encroached upon by migrants, who were residing on its two floors. The civic body had to seek police assistance a few days ago to oust them from the place. Its construction was also showing signs of wear due to lying unused for six years.

“A sum of Rs 50 lakh has been provided by the Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) to BSNL, which was executing the project. This will ensure the provision of connectivity to the parking from the road and it would be made functional in the next few months,” said Solan Municipal Commissioner Ekta Kapta

Parking is a huge problem in Solan where a large number of people commute on a daily basis from nearby areas for work, educational and medical facilities, and several other purposes. They are forced to park their vehicles at available spaces along the roads, which often invites challans from the police. The few parking lots available in the city, mostly private, are doing a roaring business as hundreds of people use the facility on a daily basis. Figures collected from the Police Department reveal that nearly 25 per cent of the challans issued in Solan pertain to parking violations. An offender has to shell out at least Rs 500 for each offence. Penalties amounting to Rs 64.31 lakh were collected in 2023 for idle parking in the city.

The parking lot, meant for 102 vehicles, was conceived in 2008. Though bids were invited for the project on a ‘build, operate and transfer’ basis that year, only a portion was completed in 2018 and the construction of its second phase was put on hold due to the scarcity of funds. A sum of Rs 55 lakh was required to complete the multi-storey parking project. Another multi-level parking project was conceived at the old bus stand, which involved the transfer of Army land. A parking lot for 156 vehicles was supposed to be created on three floors, along with the creation of a commercial space. It has also been hanging fire for many years as the administration failed to construct an approach road from the national highway of appropriate quality to facilitate the construction process.