A solution to parking woes at Numaish

• Regularised parking fees
• Designated parking lots
• Legal action against miscreants

The 46-day annual All India Industrial Exhibition, popularly known as Numaish, will be held in the city from January 1.

Last year when Numaish was conducted at its usual venue- Nampally Exhibition Grounds- there were atleast 10 parking lot owners, charging exorbitant amounts for parking. The parking price at a certain point had risen to Rs 150-200 for a four wheeler and Rs 100 for a two wheeler. Apart from this issue, there were also a few people who claimed to provide premium parking. As part of the so-called premium ‘service’, they would take the car or bike into Gandhi Bhavan and retain it over there. But this year, the organisers and officials have taken to the offensive to curb such activities.

Ashwin Margam, secretary, Exhibition Society, said, “We have seen that last year, there were a lot of discrepancies in terms of parking. But this year, we have made arrangements with the Public Service Commission, Excise Department under agreement with the GHMC, to provide ample parking space. Last year, since there was no stipulated price, the miscreants got away with their deeds. But this year we have regulated the price. It would be Rs 20 for a two-wheeler (for four hours, Rs 5 extra for every subsequent hour) and Rs 50 for four-wheelers (for four hours and Rs 10 for every subsequent hour).”

“It was also noticed that many private buildings in the vicinity were ready to provide the parking space, but they were charging exorbitant rates for parking. This time we conducted an auction to lease out the land which would be used only for parking,” he added.

In this regard they have spoken to Amit Garg, Additional Commissioner, Traffic, who has promised the organisers to hold meetings with the respective heads of department and issue guidelines, so that measures can be taken up, not only for the parking but also for the security of the vehicles as they are parked.

The society has been in talks with Government Girls’ Junior College behind the grounds for parking. It must be noted that the exhibition sees the participation of close to 30 lakh people. And the college can accommodate only a part of the inflow.

With regard to the Gandhi Bhavan parking, Ashwin said, “It wasbrought to our notice. It is all these watchmen and small-time workers who are out to make a buck. They know the people in the building and promise the visitors premium parking. We are looking to curb this menace also. This year Rs 5 lakh was spent for the entire parking stretch.”

Amit Garg in an earlier interview had said, “The bidding process for parking has still not been completed. It would be done in a couple of days. The private properties are out of the GHMC’s control. If private parties are giving land, we cannot do much in that regard. If someone is charging extra, people can go and lodge a complaint at Abids, Gosha Mahal and Begum Bazar police stations.”

He added, “This time we will focus on the display of rates everywhere, so that people won’t be over charged. Also, we can only determine the peak time of influx only after the exhibition starts. If additional parking lots are required, we will cater to that. For now, like every year the same drill will continue.”

Major attractions at Numaish

The 74th annual consumer exhibition, Numaish is just days away. Besides the usual fare that is put up every year, Numaish has got something very new and exclusive this time. One is the Hyderabad Metro Rail coach which is set to be a show stealer. It is going to be free for everybody and will educate people about metro stations and the train. The second major attraction would be the RBI stall which would teach people about the policies, currencies and schemes. The labour commission stall will spread awareness on labour commission, labour’s rights, minimum wages etc.