Operators warned against fleecing at parking lots

Trichy: Officials from the city corporation recently inspected the parking lot for two-wheelers near the Central bus stand being managed by a private contractor, after complaints about fleecing surfaced, and warned the operator to ensure that the user fee is visibly printed on the tokens and stick by the fee set by the civic body.
Locals have been alleging that operators punch seal marks over the token in a way masking the actual parking fee to enable fleecing. Authorities have insisted operators manning the parking lot not to tamper the user fee printed on the tokens. Similar fleecing complaints were also raised at the corporation’s two-wheeler parking lot at Gandhi market.

Locals alleged that against Rs 5 per day fee fixed for two-wheelers, employees of the private contractor have reportedly sought Rs 10. A video that went viral on the social media shows a consumer confronting parking lot operators as the latter sought Rs 10 to park two-wheeler for a day.

“If the prescribed fee for parking a vehicle is not clear on the token it paves way for arguments. The civic body should frame proper rules in collecting fee and at the same time officials should inspect the facility frequently,” said S Subramanian, resident of Crawford.

After receiving a volley of complaints online apart from the viral video, officials with the revenue wing of the civic body recently inspected the parking lot at the central bus stand.

“The video being circulated on social media is months old. However as several complaints were received expressing similar incidents recently, we instructed operators at the parking lot to collect only Rs 5 per day for a two-wheeler,” an official with the civic body said.

Similarly, at the Gandhi market parking lot, leased to a contractor, the operators were charging Rs 7 against the Rs 5 which has been fixed for two-wheelers.

Source