text: The Noida authority on Wednesday opened the city’s first multilevel parking lot, in the busy commercial hub of Sector 18, to public. The area has perennial traffic congestion due to illegal parking on roads in the absence of adequate parking space.
  
  The authority also opened two underpasses — Sector 94/95 and Sector 60, 61/66, 71. The underpasses will ensure smooth flow of traffic at these two major traffic intersections.
  
  UP excise minister Jai Pratap Singh inaugurated the projects on the occasion of Uttar Pradesh Diwas, the state’s formation day. The state of Uttar Pradesh came into being on January 24,1950.
  
  “Our government wants to bring a change in governance. To make that happen, we have ensured that projects related to the general public are completed on time and opened at the earliest,” the excise minister said.
  
  He is also the minister in charge of Gautam Budh Nagar district.
  
  The Sector 18 multilevel parking facility can accommodate 2,800 cars and 250 motorbikes. However, the lot which eight floors, including two basements, has no lift yet.
  
  “As of now, visitors will have to use the stairs. We will make lifts operational within a month,” Hom Singh Yadav, chief engineer, Noida authority, said.
  
  According to the Noida authority’s new rules, visitors will have to pay ₹30 for the first two hours to park four-wheelers and ₹10 for every subsequent hour after that.
  
  For parking two-wheelers, owners will have to pay ₹5 per hour. The parking facility will be operational from January 25.
  
  Work on the facility started on July 22, 2013, with a deadline of July 2015. Since then, it has missed several deadlines.
  
  “Work got delayed due to multiple reasons that include change in the government and fund issues of the contractor,” said .
  
  Previous UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had laid the foundation stone of three projects on April 2, 2013.
  
  In May 2015, the Noida authority had partially opened the paid parking on two levels while the building was still under construction.
  
  However, KR Chitra, a resident, moved the Allahabad high court in September 2015 and obtained a stay on the grounds that it was unsafe to use the building for parking while it was still being built.
  
  Disposing of the matter on February 4, the high court directed the Noida authority to complete the project fast and not to allow parking until the work is over.
  
  Besides the parking lot, two underpasses were also opened to provide relief to lakhs of commuters using the two congested stretches.
  
  “The Sector 60, 61/66, 71 underpass near Mamura will ensure a signal-free ride to motorists in that area. The Sector 94/95 underpass will ease congestion between south Delhi and Noida near the Kalindi Kunj barrage. All three projects will provide immense relief to the public,” chief engineer Yadav said.