The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), in collaboration with the Siliguri Metropolitan Police, has identified the Mela Ground of the Kanchenjunga Stadium in the city for the development of a dedicated parking facility.

Shankar Ghosh, the Siliguri MLA and the state tourism minister, inspected the proposed site on Saturday and announced that work on the project would begin shortly.

The initiative aims to convert the under-utilised annex area of the stadium into a modern parking space which can ease pressure on some busy commercial areas.

“The land adjacent to the stadium has remained largely unused throughout the year. We have decided to develop it into a dedicated parking zone to streamline traffic and provide much-needed parking space to residents and visitors. The development work will begin soon, and we hope to make the facility operational at the earliest,” Ghosh said after the inspection.

The minister also indicated that the newly constructed road-over-bridge at Burdwan Road, one of the prominent thoroughfares in Siliguri, would be inaugurated by the third week of this month.

According to SMC officials, the primary objective of the parking area project is to decongest Bidhan Road, which is home to prominent retail and wholesale markets, where inadequate parking causes traffic congestion. Quazi Samsuddin Ahmed, the deputy commissioner (traffic), SMC officials and representatives of the Bidhan Market Byabsayee Samiti joined Ghosh at the inspection.

Local traders said that lack of a dedicated parking facility discouraged shoppers and created daily inconvenience for both customers and businesses. “This has been a long-standing demand. Once the parking facility becomes operational, it will address one of the city’s major civic issues,” said Raju Saha, joint secretary of the Samiti.

Sources at the SMC said the proposed parking facility was expected to accommodate approximately 300 four-wheelers and around 1,000 two-wheelers.