This is understandable, as even the vehicle owners know the fact that most of the clubs that run parking lots around the city lack legality. [break]And, like Shah, many people associated with local clubs freely run unlicensed parking lots in public places without sharing revenue with the local municipality either in the form of tax or land rent.
Jhoche, Teku, Balkhu, mini truck parking, Narayanthan chowk, Sajha Milan Kendra Lagankhel, Saat Ghumti, and Nursing Chowk are some of the places with illegal parking lots.
Parking lots at Botahity, New Road and Jamal are a huge relief to vehicle owners as these parking lots are located in the heart of the city. However, unmanaged parking in these overcrowded areas is a major problem.
Moreover, these parking lots are running without permission from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Nepal (MTPN), one-fourth of the parking areas in the Kathmandu Valley are running illegally. However, KMC has failed to take action against the persons illegally running the parking lots.
Several committees have been formed to deal with the issue, but parking lots are being run by local clubs without permission from the concerned authorities.
“Many of the parking areas are running illegally in the Valley. We will soon take an action against people running these illegal parking lots,” said Dhanapati Sapkota, chief of implementation department of KMC.
Currently, there are more than 100 parking lots in the Valley. Of these, more than 28 are running illegally without permission from KMC. People involved in running these parking lots are backed by political parties.
As per the Local Self-governance Act 2055, permission from the concerned municipality is mandatory for running parking lots. KMC has recently completed a study on illegal parking areas and has formulated plans, including introduction of dress code for parking aides, road marking and time card, among others. However, implementation of the plan remains doubtful.
With 23.62 percent of total population riding motorbikes and another 4.03 percent private cars, according to the census 2011, parking is a major problem in the Kathmandu Valley. “There must be coordination between all stakeholders to deal with the problem. There are many obstacles and we need help from all stakeholders,” said Pawan Giri, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Traffic Police (MTP).
“We are helpless because we don´t have evidence of illegally running parking lots. People hesitate to share their problems while the KMC is busy attending to other issues,” said Giri.
As a result, illegally-run parking lots are fleecing vehicles owners, while the concerned authorities remain a mute spectator. Though the law prescribes punishment for those running parking lots illegally, none of them have been punished so far.
“A committee has formed to study the problem and come up with a solution,” said Nabaraj Dhakal, an official at the revenue department of KMC.
Parking lots are indispensible to traffic regulation. The problem needs to be resolved without further ado, or it will pose a big challenge to traffic management in the Kathmandu Valley.
“Parking problems is also a result of the indifference of government agencies. Business houses should not be allowed to set up office in core city areas without making proper parking arrangements,” added Sapkota.
“Once I had parked my scooter at Chuchepati as other bikes were also parked there. I left my helmet on my scooter thinking the parking aide would take care of it. But when I returned, my helmet was gone. When I asked the parking aide, he said, that was not part of their duty,” shared Sashi Gautam, a student.
Many of like these are not reported to the concerned authorities. This has in part encouraged illegal parking business.
“We are doing our best to improve parking management in the Valley. With coordination from MTP, we are also looking for ways to find a solution to this problem,” said Sapkota.
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