Technopark: Mobile No Parking sign?
By Pulkit Sharma

Technopark is the most important tech hub in Kerala, and by extension one of the key pillars of the booming Indian IT – ITES sector. Spread over 300 acres, Technopark has more than 18000 tech and associated workers. The Kerala tech industry is one of the great success stories of India driven by a highly educated and tech savvy populace. But Technopark has a parking problem.

Kiran, who works at Technopark, told Techgoss:

“
Parking problems were there in Technopark for a long time. As more and more companies get started in Technopark, the available parking facilities are falling short of the requirements.

I work in a company at Tejaswini Building. Usually, I park my car at the open ground at -4. But on this particular day, when I drove all the way till -4, I found that tarring was in process and so parking was unavailable.  I drove back to the main road and found there is no place to park at all. Finally, after searching for a long time, I could find a little space near the Park Centre. As I noticed other cars were also parked there, I parked my car in the absence of a ‘NO Parking’ board asking us not to do so. When I came to my car during Lunch Time I could see that the tyres were jammed (photo above). I went to the Park Centre and spoke to the Security in Charge. He, in turn, spoke to the Assignment officer one Mr. Abhilash, and told me that in the morning, the CEO of Technopark saw my car parked at the wrong side and called up the Security Section and instructed them to lock it up and that they are helpless in this situation. They told me that if I remit a fine of Rs 100 and produce the receipt they will unlock my car’s tyres.

As I was in a hurry, I went to remit the fine. But the cash counter was closed and I had to wait 30 minutes to get it done. When I produced the receipt, after consulting with the people concerned, they unlocked my car in 10 minutes.

They have a mobile No Parking Board. The board which was not there in the morning suddenly appeared in the afternoon. If the place was a regular No Parking area, nobody would park their cars there.  The same day, at night, I saw three cars parked in the same place where mine was locked. I then enquired at the Park Centre who told me that at night, parking is allowed at that space. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me then, or I would have taken a picture for proof.

This is not just my experience.  A number of my colleagues have had the same experiences with parking.

Technopark authorities, who send mails for anything and everything, didn't inform us about the tarring works. If they had informed us, people like us would have chosen a car pool or the KSRTC Volvo for our conveyance on that particular day. The -3 and -4 grounds have the parking space for almost 100 cars. The authorities who squeeze Rs. 750 per month as rent for parking space didn't have the courtesy to open it for commoners like us for at least two days to avoid inconvenience.

On normal days, the space available near the main road seems booked for certain company's buses. People who question this, get some space for parking, or they have to hunt for place. It is not that Technopark doesn't have enough space, it is just that they are not making use of those space properly and judiciously.
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