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Looking for a parking space for that additional car? You can soon start scouting for temple lands in the city that are being converted into parking lots in your neighbourhood. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department will soon start parking lots at Mylapore near the Srinivasa Sastri hall in Luz and two more in Vadapalani.

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It will also expand an existing lot at Velachery that belongs to the Dandeeswarar temple. The Department lets out parking spaces on a monthly basis to 4-wheelers and 6-wheelers. The charges are Rs.900 per month for 4-wheelers and Rs.2,000 for 6-wheelers. On an average, each parking plot brings in a revenue of Rs.50,000 to the temple, which owns it and the funds are being used for improvements to the temple.

“We cannot allow temporary parking like in those of the Chennai Corporation’s parking lots as these plots are inside residential areas. Not many are in commercial localities where parking can be metered and space let out,” said a source in HR&CE.

Many colleges increasingly prefer these parking lots to road-side spaces for stationing their buses as they are safe and do not obstruct traffic flow.

This system of temple lands being converted to parking lots will help bring in funds for the temples that own the lands and also safe guard the parcels of land. It will also keep out encroachments. “There is no need for us to sell the lands or construct on them. We only need to remove thorny bushes, level the plot and engage a watchman. We are in the process of identifying more such lands,” the official said.

Parking lots are available at Madhavaram (land belonging to Pidari Chelliamman Temple - 1.73 acre), at Kariyamedu in Vyasarpadi (Raveeswarar temple - 1.43 acre), Kesava Perumal Puram in Mylapore (Kapaleeswarar temple –1 acre), in Kolathur (Somanathaswamy temple) and on Big Street in Triplicane near the Sri Parthasarathy Perumal temple.

A recent addition to the list of parking lots is the one in Mylapore near the Mundagakanni Amman temple.

Source: The Hindu