Patna, Dec. 5: Motorists, be ready to pay according to a three-slab system if you want to park your vehicle at the multi-level parking system at Buddha Smriti Park.
Having set a deadline of December 12 for starting the system at any cost, Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishore said the it will be in three slabs - three hours, one month and six months.
"Earlier, a deadline of October 29 had been set for opening the parking system. However, the work could not be started with Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCo), the implementation agency not having made the payments to the contractors. Now, instructions have been given to finish off all pending work in connection with the parking system as soon as possible and opening it for the public by December 12. The payment mode is under three slabs or timeframes. The amounts for all modes will be fixed and finalised in some days after which it will be announced," said Kishore.
Earlier, BUIDCo had said that the parking rate had been fixed at Rs 30 per hour for each four-wheeler.
"Most of the work has been completed and the system will be opened for people on December 12. Instructions have been given to complete all remaining work before that. The parking rates cannot be disclosed at this moment. But the same will be announced by next week. The system will be a boon for people and we expect people to use it. The system has foolproof security and one can park his/her vehicle and go off on vacation by train. They can come back to Patna Junction, collect their vehicle, pay the parking fee and go home," said another official.
It has been decided that an elevated upway, which can be said to be a sort of a flyover, will be constructed too. The up way will connect the parking system to Patna Junction. According to the design, the 200m up way will start from the second floor of the parking facility and end near the booking counter of the junction. A person or a family can enter the parking lot, park their vehicle and then walk down the up way and reach the Patna Junction with their luggage.
There will be porters deputed on the stretch for help. The paid parking facility, which was ready for use since early-2013, but remained unused owing to several teething issues, can accommodate 480 vehicles at any time.
The state government had conceptualised the parking system, which is a project undertaken by BUIDCo, in 2009.
The project was handed over to the Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd and construction got over by early-2013. The system based on camera-based surveillance has four floors and was built at an estimated Rs 15 crore.
Commuters said the administration would find it difficult to make people use it.
"It is a paid parking lot and things would depend on the rates. Very few people will be ready to park their vehicles there and come to their workplaces located far. The state capital is not ready for this. Special steps need to be taken to ensure that people use it," said Boring Road resident Akhilesh Sharma.
