With bookings on for the Nano, the parking war in the city is set to get fiercer than ever
With bookings on for the Nano, the parking war in the city is set to get fiercer than ever
With the city queuing up for Tata's Nano bookings, as well as other cost-effective cars in the pipeline, it's going to start raining cars in Mumbai by mid-2009. But this might have dire consequences for a city facing a severe parking crunch. 
Dominic Costabir, director, Hospitality Training Institute (HTI) who lives in Lalat Co-Operative Housing Society in Mahim, says,u00a0 "In our complex itself, a court case is on between two buildings over the parking issue. In fact, some dilapidated cars have been kept in the driveway for years now simply so that parking spaces are occupied and nobody can park their cars there."
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The parking problem was driving Colaba resident Miraj Lavkari round the bend so he ended up selling his car.
Says Lavkari, "My driver used to park several meters away, then I would spend 10 minutes trying to trace him."
A resident of Corinthian building in Colaba, Ranjiv Ramchandani says about the choc-a-bloc parking in residential buildings near Strand cinema, "School buses can't turn into our lane because cars have spilled over on to the street. I don't know what will happen once the Nano is on the roads."
In fact, so severe is the parking problem at Mumbai's southern tip that some residents have suggested that an open plot near Strand, which has become an open-air garbage bin and toilet, be converted to a car park. Even the mayor S Raul once suggested that the Mahalaxmi racecourse be turned to a car park.
Rates for parking
Sangeet Kumar, real estate consultant in the western suburbs says, "Demand for parking has outstripped supply. Parking spaces and garages are going at premium these days." Sangeet adds that car parking is going for Rs 10 lakh (closed) and Rs 5 lakh (open) in Bandra and Khar and, Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh in the Borivali and Kandivali area. "In fact, residents are renting out their car parking in Andheri-Lokhandwala for Rs 1,500 a month," he says.
Tawheed Sofia, secretary of his society at Simla House in Malabar Hill suggests, "Maybe the government needs to intervene and ensure that there is a ration card system for parking. A four-person family should buy only one car." Tawheed adds, "We are also exploring the hydraulic (vertical) car parking options, but these are expensive." Simla House has also started a valet car park system within the society.
Besides residential parking, Mumbaikars also have horror stories about commercial pay parks where commuters are held to ransom with inflated rates (people who refuse to pay have their tyres punctured). With a host of parking woes, cheaper cars could present bigger problems to Mumbai.
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