No safe parking for cycles irks Tidel Park staff

  • | Tuesday | 26th March, 2019

However, since Tidel Park has no provision for parking bicycles on their campus, they do not take their cycles fearing theft.“My e-cycle is worth Rs 37,000. Many are seen cycling along the city’s IT corridor, but the lack of parking facilities remains an issue.“It’s not only Tidel Park or private firms, but even shopping malls also make people park their cycles outside the building at the exit gates. The place where we are asked to park has no CCTV camera, and the security guard is hardly around. CHENNAI: Ramkumar (name changed) and his friends want to ride their bicycles to work. But the people who commute by bicycles are forced to park on a pavement near the south exit road of the building.

CHENNAI: Ramkumar (name changed) and his friends want to ride their bicycles to work. However, since Tidel Park has no provision for parking bicycles on their campus, they do not take their cycles fearing theft.“My e-cycle is worth Rs 37,000. The place where we are asked to park has no CCTV camera, and the security guard is hardly around. Who will be responsible if my bike gets stolen,” said Ramkumar, who works in one of the companies in the building.Tidel Park, the first major state government initiative to boost the IT industry in Tamil Nadu by providing all required and integrated services at one location, is spread across 1.28 million sqft of land. It has about 12,000 employees working in various firms. Two floors of the building, spread over eight acres of land, accommodates around 4,000 cars and motorcycles. But the people who commute by bicycles are forced to park on a pavement near the south exit road of the building. While the road has a security cabin, employees say that since the guard is usually busy, there is hardly any security.Employers allege that despite repeated emails and assurances by K Gnanadesikan, additional chief secretary, Industries Department, and chairman of Tidel Park, the situation continues to remain the same.“They told they do not have adequate space to accommodate cycles in the parking area, so we have to park outside. We requested them to install CCTV cameras, at least, for our own safety. It’s been a year and nothing has been done,” said Suresh Raju, another employee.“If they convert parking place of 10 cars, it can accommodate at least 100 cycles,” said Ramkumar. “Their apathy is only forcing people to adopt less eco-friendly means to travel, while the state government, on the other hand has been encouraging the practice of cycling to work and has provided us separate tracks,” he said.The first bicycle in India was assembled in Chennai. Since then the city openly embraced cycling for the longest time — until people moved to cars and motorcycles. However, lately, the city has been witnessing a rise in the number of people travelling by bicycles, even to work. The state has dedicated separate cycling tracks to encourage cyclists. Many are seen cycling along the city’s IT corridor, but the lack of parking facilities remains an issue.“It’s not only Tidel Park or private firms, but even shopping malls also make people park their cycles outside the building at the exit gates. We need more parking spaces,” said Ashwini Kumari, a primary school teacher and cyclist.

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