Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) rolled back its hike in parking fees on Friday night, but hours before that parking attendants charged the new rates in cash. At least on one stretch, attendants demanded whatever they wanted to.
The KMC’s plan was to stop cash transactions so people were not fleeced. All parking fees should be collected through point of sales (POS) machines, according to that plan.
Attendants at many places, however, did not have the machines, and the ones that had preferred not to use them. The Telegraph went around the heart of the city over the past few days to see whether there had been any change since April 1.
Rs 50 an hour
This was the rate quoted by a parking attendant near Flurys on Park Street in the heart of the central business district on Wednesday afternoon. When this newspaper visited the stretch between Park hotel and Flurys on Friday afternoon, an identical rate was quoted by an attendant.
The revised parking fees — which came into effect on April 1 — for cars were Rs 20 an hour for the first two hours, Rs 40 an hour for the third to fifth hour and Rs 100 an hour beyond the fifth hour.
“I was stunned. The parking attendant bluntly told me that I had to pay Rs 50 an hour and he would not hand me any receipt. He even told me that he would not allow me to park my car there if I did not agree to pay the amount,” said a Kolkatan, recounting Wednesday’s experience.
On Friday, cars were parked in two adjacent lines on the stretch. An attendant said he had the car keys and would shift a vehicle if another were to leave. “Rs 50 an hour,” he demanded, when this newspaper asked for slot.
Negotiation
Parking attendants in many places said car owners or drivers were negotiating with the attendants for a rate lower than the KMC’s. “Earlier, we were earning a bad name for charging more than the stipulated rates. Now, the government is earning a bad name because no one wants to pay such high rates,” said a parking attendant on Little Russel Street.
The attendant said owners of cars who have offices in the area have to pay about Rs 560 for parking their cars for nine hours.
“No one is willing to give so much money every day. Is it possible to pay so much daily?” asked the attendant.
He said the owners were paying attendants a lesser amount and not asking for a receipt. “Earlier, car owners insisted on a receipt, now they don’t want it,” he said.
POS machines
At least one parking attendant on Little Russel Street asked for cash payment because he said he was unable to operate the POS machine.
“I have a machine but I am unable to operate it. We have worked offline all our lives. Now, suddenly, it is online. I am finding it difficult to operate the machine,” he said.
He also said he didn’t have receipts with the correct rates mentioned on them.
Why card?
Many parking attendants were not using POS machines when the cars were being parked. While leaving, they started blaming the car occupant for not telling while parking the vehicle that the fee would be paid digitally.
On Russel Street and Little Russel Street, parking attendants refused to accept digital payment from this newspaper on the ground that they were not told about it when the car was parked. The excuse for the refusal was that they did not record the time when the car was parked through POS machines.
