Bengaluru: Vehicle traders and users in Gandhinagar can sigh of relief because multi-level car parking facilities will be inaugurated in Freedom Park in January.
It will accommodate 500 wheels and more than 550 four wheels.
Work on the RS 78-Crore project began in 2015.
It must be prepared in 2017 but delay.
Among the reasons for delay were the lack of permission to blasting in the rocky field and often the occupation of the venue as a place to protest.
Then there was a pandemic followed by locking that saw migrant workers return home.
“The biggest challenge is a series of protests in Freedom Park.
They take advantage of a minimum of more than 1,000 people, and do work then it is not a safe proposition,” said a senior BBMP site engineer.
During 2018-19, there were more than 20 protests in Freedom Park.
In addition, the High Court said the structure must have a land minus four ground floor, pushing BBMP to change the design.
“Given that Freedom Park is a known protest site, if we build a building above the ground, there is a possibility of protesters using themselves.
So the design is changed and this takes almost six months of planning,” said BS Prahallad, Chief Engineer (big project) , BBMP.
When the Civic body began digging the site, it ran to a 10-foot rocky field.
Mining and geological departments are issued for expertise, and handle rocky fields takes two more years.
“There was a delay in the dismissal of stone disposal and royalty charges of the Ministry of Mining and Geology,” said an official.
Other officials said the project could be resolved in advance if blasting was allowed and there were fewer protests in the venue.
“This is a paid parking system and prices will be similar to those in the mall.
Rates have not been fixed,” said Prahallad.