Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail’s (HMR) 15-floor, fully automated multi-level parking facility near Nampally Metro Station remains incomplete despite initial plans to begin trial operations last May. The delay has disappointed organisers of the All India Industrial Exhibition, ‘Numaish,’ who had counted on the new facility to accommodate the vehicles of visitors this year.
Situated near Gandhi Bhavan and only a short distance from the Numaish gate, the complex includes 10 floors of parking, spanning 144,400 square feet, with capacity for around 250 four-wheelers and 200 two-wheelers. The remaining five floors are designated for commercial purposes.
Education Society secretary B. Surender Reddy said they were initially confident the facility would be ready for the exhibition’s start. “We contacted Metro authorities and learned there are technical issues with newly installed machinery,” he explained. As a result, the organisers have resorted to using alternative open parking areas at Gandhi Bhavan, Housing Board, and Chandra Vihar, among others.
Local residents, meanwhile, have raised concerns over plans to include cinema theatres in the parking complex, fearing increased traffic congestion at the already busy Nampally crossroads. “Why should cinemas come up in a structure meant to address parking woes?” asked Dr Gangadhar Rao, managing committee member of the All India Exhibition Society. He warned that theatre patrons would likely occupy most of the parking spaces, defeating the complex’s primary purpose and creating chaos on nearby roads once shows end.
