After hanging in limbo for over four years, the parking lot at Shivaji Stadium is finally set to open to the public from next month. The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) limited will operate the facility as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to hand it over to the agency with 99 other parking lots under the council’s jurisdiction. The decision has been taken following several complaints against private contractors fleecing the users. Significantly, all these hi-tech facilities will be made available to the public at the existing parking rates only.
Civil work at the parking of Shivaji Stadium was completed and is expected to accommodate 750 cars. If this facility is open to the public, it will contribute in decongesting traffic in Connaught Place (CP). The work of the stadium began in April 2008 and was supposed to be the venue for hockey practice during the Commonwealth Games. However, the venue then had to be changed as the stadium was not ready on time.
“From May, DIMTS will be building and maintaining parking lots in NDMC area. We want to make the entire parking system in our region safe and organised. This also includes the parking at Shivaji Stadium, which will be open to the public use soon,” said NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava.
“The current parking system is not clearly defined. Private contractors let in cars in their parking lots even when it is full which often leads to congestion in many areas. If a parking lot can accommodate 200 vehicles, then even a single car over it must not be permitted. There will be display boards outside every parking. If the parking is full then the driver will be directed to the next parking lot as the boom barrier would not open for entry,” said Shrivastava.