Mumbai's First Robotic Car Parking Facility At Breach Candy Shuts Down Amid Payment Dispute

Mumbai: Mumbai’s first robotic car parking facility at Breach Candy is now shut. The BMCrun, 20-storeyed mechanised parking tower was built by Akruti builder and handed over to the BMC in 2015. However, it could not be operated since its robotic arm was reportedly not working and there were leakage issues.

About Mumbai's First Robotic Car Parking Facility

The BMC took several years to repair the tower and it was finally inaugurated in June 2021 by MLA Aaditya Thackeray and former mayor Kishori Pednekar. However, the contractor temporarily suspended operations from November 15 this year as the BMC failed to clear Rs 80 lakh in dues of the company, Sotefin Parking Pvt Ltd, for the past seven to eight months.

The mechanised tower accommodates as many as 240 vehicles. It was a relief from on-street parking, which led to traffic congestion on the busy and narrow Bhulabhai Desai Road.

A source close to the company told the FPJ on Tuesday, “How long can we run the service without payments? We have finally decided to stop the service. The mechanised parking is in working condition and has been receiving a good response from the residents. However, we are waiting for the BMC to clear the dues and renew the contract so that the operations can be resumed.”

Statement Of A Senior Officer From BMC's Roads & Traffic Department

A senior officer from the BMC’s roads and traffic department said, “Yes, the parking facility has been closed for the last few days. The contract was awarded by the mechanical department and they are solving the dispute.”

When the FPJ visited the non-operational facility, an employee appointed by another contractor to collect parking fees said, “The parking tower had a good response from the public. On weekdays, there used to be at least 80 cars and over the weekend around 200 cars. On November 10, they came and put up a public notice that the operations were shut.”

The Breach Candy public parking lot falls under the ‘A’ category and has hefty parking charges. The monthly pass for four-wheelers costs Rs4,400. The parking fee for an hour is Rs70 and for more than 12 hours is Rs240. Despite the high parking charges, the parking facility received good response from visitors and even people residing in nearby buildings but do not have parking spaces.