KOCHI: With the container trailer strike continues, the issue of unauthorized parking of trailers along International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) Road crops up again.On Thursday noon, nearly 600 trailers were parked on both sides of the road on Kalamassery-Mulavukadu stretch, making the route even more dangerous than it was ever.Figures from Cochin Port Trust (CPT) shows that it had given 9.87 acres near ICTT for parking. And CPT is perhaps the one port that had allotted so much land for parking that could easily accommodate 470 trailers, an official said.Of these, the biggest one is the parking terminal operated by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) at four acres, which could accommodate 200 vehicles. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is also running a similar facility at a 2.62-acre plot, with a capacity of 120 vehicles.Arpitha Parking Terminal operates at 1.25 acres that could keep 50 vehicles safe. Further, a new parking space has come up recently at Bolgatty on two acres, which when fully developed, could accommodate 200 trailers. This is operated by Najco Parking Terminal. Parking space operators usually charge Rs 300 for a larger trailer that carries a 40-foot container and Rs 200 for a 20-foot trailer.However, trailer operators still claim that there is not enough space for vehicles to park.“There are around 1,800 trailers associated with ICTT and any given time 500 will be plying on roads. Another 400 might be in various parking terminals. So, we are left with 900 vehicles without any parking space,” said Kerala container trailer operators’ association (KCTOA) secretary K L Gilbert.Parking terminal operators got a different story to tell. “We could accommodate 75 vehicles here. But on an average, we get only 10 trailers here. There were days when we didn’t have any business at all,” said Praveen, manager of Najco Parking Terminal, which came up two months ago.With the demand being low, Najco had cut the parking fee down to Rs 250 for 40-foot and Rs 150 for 20-foot containers. “Still the business is low,” he said.Owner of Arpitha Parking Terminal Purushothaman K K also said that his business is low.“We accommodate 70 vehicles comfortably. But we get barely 30 trailers on a normal day. And only on Saturday, we get 50 trailers,” he said.CPT officials said: “We had an instance where we had to float a tender five times before finding a taker. As the existing parking terminals are barely half-filled, we couldn’t think of setting up further parking lots,” the official said.He said there is a huge number of trailers lying idle on the road and if owners park them at the parking terminals, the container road will be a safer place for motorists.

Stay updated with all the Latest Kochi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.