Restart work on parking lot, civic body tells contractor

Kullu, December 29

The Kullu Municipal Council (MC) has directed a contractor carrying out the construction of a parking lot near a café in Dhalpur to restart the work within 15 days.

Only 20% work pending

• In its monthly meeting held on Wednesday, the MC took stock of the work on the project and set a deadline of 15 days
• It was decided that if the contractor fails to meet the deadline, then the tender would be cancelled and the amount deposited by the contractor will be forfeited
• Reportedly, only 20% of the project is pending and it could be completed within two months

The contractor has been told that if he fails to abide by the orders, his tender will be cancelled and security amount will be forfeited. The work of the parking lot has been lingering on for the past over two years.

In its monthly meeting held on Wednesday, the MC took a stock of the work on the project and set a deadline of 15 days. It was further decided that if the contractor fails to meet the deadline, then the tender would be cancelled and the amount deposited by the contractor will be forfeited. Reportedly, only 20 per cent of the project is pending and it could be completed within two months.

The construction of an underground parking lot under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme was started under an existing parking lot near Monal Cafe in the Dhalpur area of Kullu in August 2020. The Rs 2.31-crore project will accommodate around 70 vehicles in the basement and about 80 vehicles on the upper floor.

The MC authorities said it would be the first parking lot with a boom barrier in the district and will be equipped with cameras to ensure safety of parked vehicles.

They said there would be no tampering with the existing layout of the area as the ‘Jaleb’ of deity Narsingh passes through the area during world famous Kullu Dasehra festival and various cultural activities are also carried out in the area.

Kullu MC president Gopal Krishan Mahant said the district headquarters are located in Dhalpur and visitors have to face a lot of parking and traffic problems.

He said the parking problem aggravates during the Dasehra, Pipal Jatra and other events held at Dhalpur. He said the MC had received about Rs 62 crore under the AMRUT scheme.

In the first phase of the scheme, 75 per cent of the budget had been given to the Jal Shakti Department for 24-hour water and sewerage system in the city, he said. He said work was underway on several projects in the city under the AMRUT scheme.

The Kullu MC has also given permission for landing paragliders in the Dhalpur ground from the Peej paragliding site. The president said a fee would be charged from the pilots for the maintenance of the ground.