The Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk) and the Dhaka City Corporation have come up with proposals to construct three multistoried parking lots in Motijheel.

The DCC has decided to construct a multi-storey commercial-cum-parking establishment on the park in front of the Shilpa Bank's head office in Motijheel.

The traffic problem of this area is so acute that the authorities did not have any other option but to turn the little patch of open space into a parking area.

Meanwhile, a few months ago Rajuk also decided to build two such high-rise parking lots one in front of Pubali Bank's head office in Motijheel and the other behind the Purbani Hotel at Dilkusha.

Karwan Bazar over the years has become one of the most important commercial localities in Dhaka. It is home to a number of leading business houses, utility agencies, one of the largest wholesale markets, some of the top most national dailies and satellite channels and three international standard hotels. Although commercialisation has spread very rapidly here, parking provisions have remained neglected.

Most of the high-rise buildings in the area do not have adequate parking facilities on site. Naturally, drivers are forced to park on the streets and even pavements during peak office hours, which invariably results in serious traffic congestion.

The area is expanding vertically and the number of vehicles entering and passing through is rising every day. That's why a multistoried parking lot is an absolute necessity in Karwan Bazar believe many.

"We do not have enough parking space for the huge number of cars that come to our office each day. We will definitely welcome a commercial parking facility in this area. Apart from an end to gobbling up of road space, it will also provide security to the vehicles," said chief advisor of satellite channel ATN Bangla Saiful Bari.

The Karwan Bazar kitchen market is frequented by hundreds of Dhaka dwellers everyday. But those who come here with cars share the common complaint.

"We have to keep our cars at a distance as there is hardly any parking space. So whenever I come at Karwan Bazar, I ensure that my driver is with the vehicle. Car-thieves are very much active in this area," said Russell Rahman a regular customer at the kitchen market.

To compound the problem, people often show utter disdain for the law and park their vehicles haphazardly. Local business people allege that the law-enforcers are slack in monitoring the parking situation.