Mangaluru: The dream of businesses in Hampankatta, a multi level parking lot in the erstshile bus stand has reached a dead end. This was one of 10 such parking lots proposed five years ago, by the then Urban Development Minister S.

On November 25, 2009, Suresh Kumar at a press conference had said that builders of some commercial complexes and high-rise buildings in the city had made no parking provisions.

“The space meant for parking had been utilised for other purposes. As a result, vehicles were being parked on the road in front of such buildings”, he had said.

The parking lot is still a mirage in the distance even as, according to the Regional Transport Officer Afzal Ahmed Khan, the vehicle population is increasing by 15 per cent every year over the last decade, which means that it is doubling every five years.

In its 2011-12 budget, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) proposed to build a multi-level car parking-cum-commercial complex at Hampankatta within two years (by the end of 2012-13). This complex was expected to provide parking for 600 cars through the Mangauru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

As the MUDA did not accomplish this project, the council of the corporation in its July 2014 meeting decided to work on the project on its own through a public private partnership. Of the 215.5 cents of land available at the old service bus stand at Hampankatta, the civic body owns 155 cents and the remaining 60.50 cents – where there are five buildings – belongs to three private parties.

The Minister for Urban Development Vinay Kumar Sorake is supportive of the project and had indicated that the government could sanction 50 per cent of the project cost through the Directorate of Urban Transport Authority under the Urban Development Department. However he was awaiting a proposal from the MCC. Former Mayor Marla had said that the project is still in the project stage.

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