Corporation mulls shifting its lorry shed

The Tiruchi City Corporation (TCC) is exploring the feasibility of shifting of its lorry shed on Madurai road near Marakkadai so as to construct a shopping mall under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

The shed, which is situated near the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements, is functioning on about three acre. It is mainly used to halt the small and big vehicles of Corporation.

According to sources, the Tiruchi Corporation has 170 light and medium vehicles and 75 heavy load carriers, including garbage lorries and water tankers. The drivers, after completing day-to-day works, park them at the shed. The vehicles attached to Srirangam and Golden Rock zone have also been parked at the shed.

However, officials are of the view that the space, which is located on a busy commercial locality, is underutilised. Instead of bringing vehicles from far away places in Thiruverumbur, Kattur, Srirangam, Ramji Nagar and Edamalaipattipudur, which consume time and energy, officials say that they can be parked in their respective zones. It will pave the way for making the lorry shed space for constructing a shopping mall. Corporation Commissioner N. Ravichandran told The Hindu that though the space had been utilised for parking vehicles for so long, its commercial value has not been exploited. Since it was located at the centre of the city, it was felt that it could be used to generate revenue to the Corporation.

Stating that the plan was at the preliminary stage, he said that a study would be carried out to figure out the viability. There were chances for making the mall as one of the major revenue sources of the Corporation.

Source