Mumbai: Don’t want parking lots at cost of open spaces, say locals

The BMCrsquos suggestion that parking lots be created beneath civic gardens to deal with the menace of unauthorised parking of vehicles on roads has raised the hackles of citizens While Juhu citizens will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue Bandra locals are discussing the pros and cons of the idea While the plan to create underground parking lots has been kicked around for the past six to seven years citizens have generally opposed itThe issue resurfaced after Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velarasu visited Raosaheb Patwardhan Park at Bandra West and Pushpa Narsee Park at JVPD Scheme in Juhu on February 2 In a press note issued by the BMC it was mentioned that local MLAs demanded that parking lots be built beneath these gardens During the visit P Velarasu examined the sites and instructed that tenders be floated for the construction of underground parking lotsIn its 202324 budget the corporation proposed the setting up of mechanical robotic parking systems on open spaces in its own parks and playgrounds The budget document also mentions that the process regarding the work order is underway for work at three placesmdashRaosaheb Patwardhan Park Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo at Byculla East and Municipal Engineering Hub Worli However the JVPD garden wasnrsquot mentionedRaosaheb Patwardhan Park at Bandra West File PicPradeep DhivarResidents of Juhu along with environmentalists and activists have been vocal about their opposition to the plan ldquoWe have been demanding a parking lot for the past few years as our roads have become a dumping yard for unknown vehicles from other locations But we donrsquot want it at the cost of open space The corporation has a huge land parcel of its own which it uses as a dumping yard near the 5th Road market They can use their creativity and ingenuity instead of uprooting the parkrdquo said Chetan Shah a resident of Gulmohar RoadAnother resident added that building an underground parking lot means the demolition of the existing park removal of all the trees and replacing the soil floor with a cement floor over which soil and plants will be added for show ldquoThe floor will not allow the soil to breathe nor allow rainwater to be absorbed The park is surrounded on three sides by 30metrewide roads that are used for parking vehicles If underground parking is really needed an entire parking lot can be built under the existing roadrdquo said the residentEnvironmentalist Zoru Bhathena who initiated the movement for preserving Pushpa Narsee Park said ldquoWe oppose plans to build parking lots below any garden Parks are not parking lots Most of the BMCrsquos existing public parking lots are lying vacant The concept of having a public parking lot where none is needed is a failed onerdquoAnand Pendharkar an ecologist said ldquoWe should ensure all public parks and places are free from construction Part of Azad Maidan was taken away for a Metro station the Coastal Road is passing through Priyadarshini Park and Maheshwari Udyan had a flyover built through it It is a systematic destruction of Mumbairsquos green and open spacerdquo He added that citizens would refuse to fall for the ldquofake promiserdquo that the park would be restored to its original statusAlso Read Mumbai Forest fire at Aarey extinguished in the nick of timeA discussion about creating underground parking at Raosaheb Patwardhan Park was had some five to six years ago but after a meeting with the BMC no new plan was shared with citizens ldquoThere were multiple objections The spot already has a paid parking facility Also it is a floodprone area Even after the construction of a lot moving hawkers into the basement would not be safe for buyers Also it wonrsquot guarantee that hawkers wonrsquot come back on the streetsrdquo said Deyasini Choudhury an architect and trustee of H West Ward FederationShe added ldquoMost importantly the planning would lead to trees being hacked to create the basement and more trees wonrsquot be allowed to be planted Underground parking should be planned at a sports grounds where there isnrsquot much tree cover Gardens should not be touchedrdquoSunil Khosla a Bandra local said ldquoThis has been discussed for the past five years Once an underground parking lot is created in the garden it will be used mostly by beggars and hawkers Illegal activities could take place thererdquoHowever not everyone is completely against the move Rohinton Polishwala a Linking Road resident said ldquoThere were no objections to the plans as per our last meeting with MLA Ashish Shelar in November However residents were not happy with the idea as the area would have led to vehicular congestionrdquo2Day in Feb when P Velarasu visited Bandra Juhu