Kolkata: The cooperative agency that controls most of the prime parking lots in central Kolkata, including Chowringhee and Dalhousie Square, said on Tuesday that it asked its members to collect Rs 20 per hour as a parking fee from motorists, and that those who demanded more would be reined in.
The KMC officials on Monday insisted the legal parking fee was Rs 10 per hour and that it would launch a crackdown against those extorting more from motorists.
However, unfazed by the civic body and its own management, parking attendants at Jawaharlal Nehru Road continued to demand Rs 50 per hour from motorists on Tuesday. Rahul Khan from Picnic Garden, who was exiting the parking lot between Dorina crossing and Lindsay Street that can accommodate 70 cars at a time, said on Tuesday he paid Rs 50 per hour, the same rate that he shelled out multiple times earlier as well when parking his car on JL Nehru Road.
The attendants acknowledged they did charge Rs 50 an hour from motorists, but if someone offered to pay Rs 40 an hour, they accepted it. "Getting a parking slot here is difficult. Usually, people queue up to park. Most of them don't mind paying a little more for the service," said an attendant.
MMiC verseeing the KMC car parking department, Debasis Kumar, on Tuesday reiterated the agency entrusted to run the parking lots on Chowringhee and its adjoining areas had been asked to adhere to the rules strictly, or else stern action will be taken against them. "I have asked my team to conduct a surprise visit to all major parking lots to keep a watch on the parking attendants. Besides, the errant agencies will be served show-cause notice," said Kumar.
Jagdish Chowdhury of Pioneer Cooperative Car Parking Servicing & Construction Society Ltd said all members were asked to charge Rs 20 an hour. "Two years ago, the KMC revised the rate for each parking slot from Rs 1,210 per month to Rs 1,610 per month. At the same time, they revised the parking fee. That would put an end to the extortion. But the hike was withdrawn. We thereafter told KMC that we will charge Rs 20 per hour," he said. There are 28 other parking societies in Kolkata.
Chowdhury said if some members were collecting Rs 50 an hour, he would take action against them if he received complaints. However, a KMC car parking department official said there was no provision to charge Rs 20 an hour. "In fact, we asked the car parking agencies to do away with the coupon system and re-introduce the app," said the civic official.
Chowdhury also pointed out that despite paying fees to KMC for slots in streets around New Market, the society was unable to use many slots as they are encroached by hawkers. "At Humayun Place, we have space for 18 cars. But most of them are encroached. On Bertram Street, we had slots to park 80 cars. That got shrunk to 32. Now, once a car leaves, hawkers don't allow another to park there. There is no rotation at all. We hardly get to park 20-22 cars in a day," he said.