Parking fee menace continues

Parking fee menace continues
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Bangalore City Corporation Mayor R. Narayanaswamy may be taking the credit for abolishing parking fees in public places but the ‘menace’ has not disappeared totally.

There are parking lots at Majestic, M.G. Road, Church Street, Gandhi Bazaar, KR Market, Gandinagar and other business localities where unauthorised people collect money for ‘looking after’ parked vehicles. They do not issue any receipts but act like authorised agents of the BCC or a private contractor.

For example, as soon as one parks his two-wheeler, a man, looking like a debt-recovery officer, suddenly materialises out of nowhere. The man will insist you pay the money and does not entertain any questions. If you dare ask him whether he is authorised to collect money, he gives you a nasty look.

Most of the vehicle owners pay the money without any murmur, as these ‘care-takers’ can cut the seat covers or break the mirrors while the owner is busy with his work. One cannot argue with them since they are drunkards or drug addicts.

It is surprising that many such ‘care-takers’ go about their ‘work’ under the nose of the traffic police at Majestic. ‘‘We are not pocketing all the money. We have to pay the police to let us do the work,’’ explains Krishna, whose eyes are red and swollen after hitting the bottle.

Some of these ‘agents’ steal a little petrol to get a high by sniffing the stuff. It is a common feature in Gandhinagar for wayward boys to soak cotton with petrol and put it to their nose.

They work in shifts to manage these parking places. Some of them even work on hourly basis. ‘‘I had paid Rs. 3 to a man when I parked my vehicle and when I returned three hours later, another one demanded another Rs. 3 to take out my vehicle,’’ says Parameswar, a motorist.

‘‘Anyone can take away the vehicles since there is no restriction on strangers’ entry into a parking lot. In the absence of fee receipts, there is none to verify the veracity of the ‘owner’ of the vehicle,’’ says Sudarshan, another aggrieved citizen.

It is not that policemen or the BCC officials are unaware of this menace. They police can put an end to this nuisance once and for all.