KARIMNAGAR, DECEMBER 29, 2025: Utter chaos prevails on the premises of the Collectorate office complex with the non-availability of parking space in the heart of Karimnagar town.
The cars and two-wheelers are seen struggling to park their vehicle on the roads of the Collectorate premises, as the existing parking lot was encroached by the Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar (MCK) authorities by erecting a barbed fence and taking up plantation of saplings on the premises, denying parking space for the visitors, district officials, and employees for the reasons better known to the officials concerned.
It is surprising to note that the MCK had encroached the parking space and taken up plantation of saplings, and on the other hand destroyed the existing parks and greenery developed by the then district officials by erecting the signboards of ‘parking area’. The open space in front of the existing Collector’s chamber was once a park developed by the Transport department, which was later shifted to Thimmapur in its permanent office. But the officials of the Collectorate had converted it as parking space. Similarly, the lawns adjacent to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi were also destroyed and converted into a parking of two-wheelers. If they were so concerned about taking up plantation and development of greenery on the premises of the Collectorate, they should have taken up opposite the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, instead of closing the parking place.
Some four decades ago, the then officials had constructed the first integrated Collectorate complex housing all important departments under one roof in the integrated Andhra Pradesh state with ample space for parking and greenery. And in the year 1999, then Collector Debabrata Kanta had taken up beautification of the Collectorate by taking up massive plantation without closing the parking space and taking up Helipad park with lots of greenery and ensuring that three helicopters land at a time on the premises and allowing the people to use the premises for walking.
Ironically, the officials had converted the picturesque Helipad park into a garbage dumping yard and denied visitors into the park. The officials should also remember that the Helipad park was further developed by the MCK as part of the centenary celebrations of the Karimnagar town and then Governor ND Tiwari inaugurated the park some two decades ago.
With the new Collectorate office complex nearing completion and the authorities planning to shift the government offices housed in other private premises into the old Collectorate complex, the parking woes would further aggravate, causing umpteen woes to the visitors and the officials.
Already, the State Bank of India branch, which used to park its cash vehicles on the parking space opposite to its branch, had relocated as the authorities had closed the parking lot by erecting a fence and taking up plantation.
With the growing number of vehicles, the authorities should have a vision for the future requirement of the need for more parking space and not to create a concrete jungle and chaotic situation denying parking space. They should imagine the situation of shifting of all the offices located in private premises to the old Collectorate and the traffic and parking woes.
Whenever the district review committee meeting of the integrated Karimnagar district is conducted on the premises of the Collectorate, the district officials and other vehicles are forced to park outside the Collectorate premises due to heavy arrival of VIP vehicles such as Ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs along with their convoys and their supporters.
It is time to rethink and remove the barbed fence and reopen the existing parking lot opposite to the SBI branch, which existed for over four decades on the premises.
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