Vehicles parked in front of a shopping complex in Patna. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Aug. 7: Commercial buildings in the state capital with inadequate or no parking space are in for trouble. Police have sought a list and maps of all commercial buildings in the state capital from Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to take necessary action against the erring builders.

The letter requesting the same was sent to the PMC on Saturday. Once the details are provided, the police would launch a special drive against the buildings having little or no parking facility for private vehicles, said the superintendent of police (SP), Patna central, Shivdeep Lande, who also holds the post of traffic SP.

The officer claimed that many commercial buildings in the city were flouting the regulations regarding parking lots.

“The police would study the maps of all the commercial buildings before starting the drive. There are many buildings which lack parking space, but their maps show separate area demarcated for vehicle parking. The builders get the permission from the PMC on the basis of the maps but they don’t create the promised parking space during construction,” Lande said.

Areas like the Exhibition Road and Frazer Road have got a number of commercial buildings with inadequate parking lots. It is a major cause of worry for the people visiting these buildings as they are forced to park their vehicles in the no-parking areas, causing tra- ffic snarls.

“It is problematic for the traffic policemen too, as they have to struggle to direct the traffic through the crammed roads. Also, the vehicles parked in the no parking zones have to be fined or towed away as a result,” the officer added.

Some buildings have even constructed shops in the area demarcated for parking, said the officer.

“There are some buildings where shops are running in the space meant for parking. Constructions are carried out in the parking area and then the rooms are rented out as shops to people. This is absolutely illegal and action needs to be initiated against the people involved in flouting the norms,” Lande said.

About the illegal construction in the parking area, the officer said: “If illegal commercial structures are identified within the parking lot, the police will start a drive and demolish the structures in order to clear way for adequate parking space. More studies in this connection are on at this moment,” the officer said.

Anil Kumar, a senior architect at the state building construction department, said all commercial complexes should have adequate parking space for vehicles.

“The parking space usually depends on the area and the size of the building. One needs to check the norms in order to understand the measurement. But the fact remains that commercial structures as well as residential buildings need to have adequate parking space,” the official said.

Residents agreed with the police.

“Scant parking space is a major problem in commercial buildings. People are forced to park their vehicles on the road. Most of these buildings are located in the Exhibition Road area. This results in traffic jam on the entire stretch. The police and the administration need to look into the problem,” said Anivesh Kumar, a state government employee.