Nagpur News : Parking spaces in the city at commercial areas has always been a problem and the main place where this particular problem comes into consideration is the place at Variety Square.
To overcome this lack of parking spaces and increasing number of vehicles, Nagpur Improvement Trust has decided to develop multi-level car parking plazas. One such modern structure, which can park 72 cars, is ready at Variety Square, Sitabuldi. It is likely to be inaugurated in December.
The parking plaza, a model parking system, would be the first of its kind in Vidarbha. NIT superintending engineer SS Gujjalwar told Nagpur Today that the multi-level car parking-cum-commercial complex is likely to be thrown open to public during the winter session of the state legislature. “NIT has planned to set up more such parking plazas in other parts of the city after the one at Sitabuldi is successfully launched,” he said.
Giving details, Gujjalwar said NIT built this state-of-the-art parking plaza without spending a single penny. “The civic agency had 635 sq m land adjacent to Cinemax on Amravati road. The land has good commercial value. Considering the need for four-wheeler parking spots at Sitabuldi, NIT decided to set up this parking plaza on built operate and transfer (BOT) basis.”
A private company was given contract to construct the building. “City-based Rai Udyog was given the work order to construct the parking plaza and hand it over to NIT. The building will also house some commercial establishments to provide revenue for the private company. NIT will earn premium of Rs1.01 crore and also get ground rent of around Rs8 lakh per annum from the company,” said Gujjalwar.
NIT assistant engineer RK Elkawar said the parking plaza has a fully automated elevator system. “Every type of car can be parked in the two wings, each 29.19 metre high. There are 18 levels (floors) in each wing. Two levels will be underground and the ground floor will be the entry and exit point. Each level is 1.68 metre high, five metre long and two metre wide. Two cars can be parked at a time on each level in both wings, which will have separate lifts.”
Explaining the parking mechanism, Elkawar said, “Once a car enters the ground level, it will be turned around to face the shutter. It will then be lifted mechanically and parked in the vacant slot on one of the levels. The entire operation will be automated.”
The entire building, including the parking plaza, will have CCTV cameras, firefighting systems and other safety equipment.
The lifts have capacity to carry 2,500kg, which is well above the weight of almost any car. NIT has retained 60 car parking slots while the private developer has been allotted 12. The civic agency will float a tender and appoint a private contractor to operate and maintain the parking plaza. The parking charges will be finalized after the tendering process.
The parking plaza has already started grabbing eyeballs due to its modern architecture and also because where the place is situated.
