Ludhiana: Overcharging continues at MC parking lot

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, May 3

When AAP leaders are making tall claims to weed out corruption from the state, nothing has changed at Municipal Corporation’s parking lots as fleecing of visitors is going on unabatedly under the nose of MC officials.

A stone’s throw from MC office

Visitors are being forced to pay Rs 70 for parking their four-wheelers against the prescribed parking fee of Rs 20 at the MC’s multi-level parking lot which is just a stone’s throw from the MC’s Zone A office near Mata Rani Chowk, here.

The visitors are being forced to pay Rs 70 for parking their four-wheelers against the prescribed parking fee of Rs 20 at the MC’s multi-level parking lot which is just a stone’s throw from the MC’s Zone A office near Mata Rani Chowk, here.

It seems the MC’s officials concerned are not ready to act against the private contractor, allegedly backed by some politicians and officials as well, despite the visitors raising their voice against overcharging.

A city resident, Rajeev Jain, said he was forced to pay Rs 70 as car parking charges. When he demanded parking fee slip from staff, they issued a partially torn slip to hide the parking fee amount.

“No parking fee was mentioned on the torn slip that was issued to me. I had raised an objection against overcharging but they claimed the fee is Rs 70. Later, I sent a photo of the torn slip to the Deputy Commissioner who assured to raise the matter with the MC Commissioner,” Jain said.

Notably, the fleecing of visitors was common during the regimes of the previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments.

Ahead of the Assembly elections, AAP leaders had raised the issue of the parking mafia in the city. But the visitors had failed to get any relief from overcharging at parking lots, even now.

Another resident, Satinderpal Singh, said: “Instead of handing over parking lots to private contractors who have been looting visitors, the departments concerned should deploy their own employees at the lots. We want the government must take concrete steps to stop the exploitation of the visitors at the lots. The parking lots are for the convenience of the people not for causing harassment to them.”

AAP MLA from Ludhiana Central Ashok Parashar Pappi said they would take strict action if anyone was found overcharging visitors.

MC Commissioner Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal said they would look into the matter and take strict action if any violation was found.

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