Parking woes

This is the lane near my home, off the Dream Park. As you can see, most of the lane's side are used for cars. This is a pretty common sight all over Mumbai just because the city planners are deliberately obtuse. I mean, even the BMC wants to build malls!! NOt car parks which is the need of the hour. Even the builders want to build malls and buildings (that, thanks to recession, nobody wants). Even purely on commericial terms all seem to be particularly moronic -- any financial nitwit will tell u the demand for car parks is more than for malls and flats. Yet, these seemingly money-making breed (BMC is the richest civic body in India) are so short-sighted.

In South MUmbai you may own a car for five lakhs or so. But pay parking fee deposit of Rs 1.5 crore. Is this for real? That too in some seedy, dilapidated compound wall?

In my own complex, the car park which cost Rs 75000 has now appreciated to Rs 3.5 lakhs (in seven years). Stilt parking costs Rs 7 lakhs, and still people are buying and begging to buy, though none are available for such rates. The car, as u guessed, is less than the parking space:)

And even as I throw such figures, the official secret is that all builders must provide car parks for free (ha ha!!!) and that is mandatory. That of course is a big joke. The builders won't provide car parks even for a fee, is what most residents find out. Only everybody colludes in this big laff:)

As abroad, rented parking slots is where the big money is. Clearly nobody is seeing that!