Frequent shoppers, residents of Kamla Nagar area can now heave a sigh of relief from the persistent traffic congestion with the opening of a multi-level parking lot in the vicinity on Sunday. The much-awaited and publicised automated parking lot can house at least 828 cars and 300 two-wheelers.
However, it was inaugurated in apparent haste as its three-floors are yet to become functional. As officials said, only four floors are operational at present while the remaining three floors would be started within a couple of months. The Kamla Nagar parking lot, the first automated parking site of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC), was formally inaugurated by BJP president Rajnath Singh on Sunday.
The parking lot has been constructed in three years in collaboration with a private contractor SMS Infrastructure. Officials informed that the project was announced in 2007 and lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna had laid the foundation stone.
However, the actual work had started in March 2010 but was delayed due to multiple snafus. “The parking lot has been developed over 3,192 sq. metre area and has seven levels with six elevators. It includes various facilities like 100 per cent power backup, CCTV cameras, audio link and fire extinguishers,” officials said.
The project has come up at a cost of nearly Rs 200 crore. Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel, former Delhi Assembly Speaker Charti lal Goel, North Delhi Mayor Azad Singh, Standing Committee Chairman Ram Kishan Singhal and leader of House Mahendra Nagpal were present during inauguration of the car park.
Officials said the entry and exit of vehicles would be state-of-the-art. The vehicles will be placed in the vacant slot automatically. To park the vehicle, a ticket is given to the motorist while entering the lot with location details of the vehicle. Drivers leave the car in the circulation lobby at the lower ground level. The vehicle is thereafter automatically shifted to the location that has been printed on the ticket.
Similarly, on re-entering the token number, the vehicles are transported to the exit gate. To ensure safety, the code provided at the time of issuing the token has to be entered at the pay counter along with payment of the parking charge. The boom barrier cannot be opened without the secret code.