CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will soon execute the first essential refurbishment and reactivation of damaged automated components at its Multi-Level Parking (MLP) facility on Thanikachalam Road, Pondy Bazaar.
Costing Rs 24.42 lakh, this marks the facility’s first major overhaul since it opened in 2021.
A senior GCC official told DT Next, “The Corporation has floated tenders to carry out essential repair and replacement works that will restore full-fledged operations at the MLP. Furthermore, the civic body is coordinating with the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) and the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) to introduce a Smart Parking Management System.”
Expected to roll out by the end of January, this initiative will cover MLP and Pondy Bazaar’s commercial streets. According to the tender document, the work involves critical repairs and maintenance for vehicle Lifts 2 and 3, alongside Shutters 1 and 2.
The lift repairs include replacing door rollers, belts, shaft couplings, guide wheels, a 40-metre counterweight tube, and an 80-metre rope, as well as executing 7th-layer wall cutting and reinstatement. Shutter tasks cover replacing laser, U-, and centring sensors, a dolly motor fan, sprockets, guide wheels, and a current collector.
Additionally, all mechanical units will undergo general maintenance, alignment, lubrication, defect rectification, testing, and commissioning. The contractor will also provide operation and maintenance services, deploying qualified technical personnel for routine preventive checks, emergency breakdown troubleshooting, interlock inspections, equipment cleaning, and logbook maintenance. Any major external structural modifications will require separate employer approval.
Highlighting the current state of the facility, an MLP staff member explained that due to a lack of takers, visitors have been allowed to park for free for up to two hours for over a year. “Currently, we accommodate 37 cars and 282 bikes daily, though the facility has a capacity for 222 cars and 513 bikes,” the staffer noted.
Though the MLP is a great initiative, the public has not utilised it properly, as there isn’t much awareness about the free 2-hour parking, and the availability of roadside parking. “For more than a year, the GCC has allowed the public to park cars and bikes for free for up to two hours. But it must tighten enforcement on parking irregularities in the surrounding streets, especially with the festive season around the corner, and open the full MLP for the public,” said T Kannan, a resident of T Nagar.
Beyond mechanical issues, around 6 window panes are broken, only one of the 3 car lifts is functional, passenger lifts require general servicing, and the entire structure needs maintenance. Once renovated, parking fees will be revised from the earlier rates of Rs 20 for cars and Rs 5 for bikes to Rs 40 and Rs 15 per hour, respectively.