Non-functional lifts, a defunct FASTag payment system, dim lighting, poor sanitation and absent staff, these are the ground realities at the multi-level parking facility near Hazratganj crossing, managed by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC).
A visit to the parking complex around 8 pm on Thursday laid bare a string of failures. No staff were present on upper floors to guide motorists to available slots, while broken or dim lights made navigation difficult, especially at night.
Despite the LMC’s claim that the facility runs on FASTag-based payments, attendants at the entry gate issued manual slips and collected only cash at the exit. When asked to process payment via FASTag, an attendant said flatly that the machine was not working.
The lifts were out of order, forcing visitors, including the elderly and families, to use staircases to reach upper floors. The situation draws a parallel to a recent incident at the LMC headquarters, where a senior citizen woman fainted after climbing stairs during ‘Sampoorna Samadhan Diwas’ because the lift there was also not working.
Large sections of the parking area were covered in dust and mud, with vehicles appearing to have sat unmoved for months. Tobacco stains lined the walls of staircases and corridors, and litter had gathered in corners. Signboards advertising facilities were visible, but many of those services were either broken or poorly kept.
Devansh Malik, a store employee who parks there regularly, said the lift had been out of order for months. “We are directed to the second or third floor but have to climb stairs every time,” he said.
Anoop Singh, 67, visiting a nearby restaurant with his family, said: “Despite paying parking charges, visitors do not get proper services.”
When HT raised the issues with LMC, Pankaj Srivastava, additional municipal commissioner and in-charge of LMC parking, said the civic body has decided to float a fresh tender, with a base price fixed at ₹1.80 crore per year. The contract would be awarded for five years, with a possible three-year extension. The tender is set to be opened on March 9, and if an agency is finalised, formalities would be completed within a week, after which the facility would be handed over for operation and management.
Srivastava acknowledged that the FASTag mechanism is currently non-functional, adding that it would be restored once the new agency is in place.
