Srinagar: With the employees of a private agency managing smart parking sites allegedly charging people at will, the latter are aghast and accuse the authorities of allegedly taking their problems ‘for granted’.
The employees of a private agency tasked with managing smart parking sites right from the city center Lal Chowk to Wazir Bagh areas in Srinagar on a looting spree; they are charging people arbitrarily for parking their vehicles at SSCL designated sites, motorists allege.
They allege that people who park their cars at designated parking spots are not provided with invoices and are instead asked to pay several times the amount of the prescribed rates when they return.
Assuring action, Additional Director General, Media, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Rajiv Jain said the matter will be taken up with the higher-ups of Srinagar Smart City Ltd and that the action under law will be taken against the agency if found at fault.
It is pertinent to mention that an individual parking his car at the designated smart parking lots under a new arrangement has to pay Rs 20 for under 30-minute parking, Rs 40 for under one hour, Rs 70 for 89 minutes, Rs 100 for 119 minutes, Rs 140 for 149 minutes, Rs 180 for 179 minutes, Rs 230 for 209 minutes, Rs 280 for 239 minutes and Rs 340 for 269 minutes.
However, the employees assigned by a private agency for the job in addition to swindling, at times misbehave with car owners, people allege.
“These employees not only overcharge but also mistreat consumers who muster the courage to object to their conduct. I have also been the victim of random charging. They don’t provide invoices when people park their vehicles at these spots, but when people return to take their vehicles they are made to pay far higher than what they have actually incurred as per the prescribed parking rates,” Jehangir Ahmad, a businessman from Srinagar said.
The authorities, he said, instead of taking punitive action against the agency, have maintained silence over the illegal practice, which he claimed is burning holes in the pockets of the “poor” motorists.
