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Karachi: Fake CDGK receipts: Parking contractors fleecing unaware citizens - Naveed Yaseen - 04-16-2009 06:12 AM
By Irfan Aligi
KARACHI: The shenanigans of parking contractors have become a bane for the citizens.
Sources in the CDGK Recovery Department told Daily Times that a major predicament that is causinggreat discomfort to the citizens of the city is the violation of the prescribed and approved terms and conditions of charged parking contracts that the department awarded to various private contractors. These contractors have now, one their own, increased the parking fee by twice the approved amount. Earlier, the contractors only verbally increased the fee, however, now they issue printed CDGK parking receipts with doubled rates.
The printed CDGK parking receipts are enough evidence to prove how these contractors have been looting the citizens, commented the sources. Sources privy to the matter claimed that no union council (UC) in the city was allowed, under the SLGO-2001, to establish such a business and in case any such business is made operational, it would be against the existing law.
However, there are UCs in the city that have openly violated the SLGO-2001 by establishing parking lots within their limits, with the Serena Mobile Mall being one such example. The said venue is the busiest in the area and is located at the junction of three towns, Gulberg Town, North Nazimabad Town and New Karachi Town.
For the past many years, it has become a routine matter to hundreds of vehicles parked at the corners of the Serena Mobile Mall, however, in the last few months, the area has been converted into a charged parking site. The parking contractors on the Super Highway-National Highway Link Road have been charging toll tax at the rate of Rs 60 and Rs 120, while the official rates are half of this, added the sources. Talking to Daily Times, District Officer Charged Parking Razia Sultana said that she has received numerous complaints about the extra parking charges on the link road, upon which she conducted a raid. “A parking contractor, Jaskani, tried to pressurise me, however, I did not give in and submitted a report to the higher CDGK authorities,” she added.
The official parking charges were Rs 5 for motorcycle, Rs 10 for a car, Rs 25 for a six-wheeler and Rs 30 for a ten-wheeler, while Jaskani was charging Rs 50, Rs 60 and Rs 120 respectively, claimed Sultana.
Overcharging is a routine matter at every parking lot at Hill Park and everywhere in the city, while there are many illegal parking areas in the city, however, there is no authority that could take action against the operators of these illegal parking, alleged Sultana. She revealed that the Al-Baik at Meena Bazar, Karimabad and other parking lots near the Serena Mobile Mall are all illegal.
“Jaskani and other contractors have been overcharging parking fees on the pretext of low return of revenue and have also approached the CDGK authorities for a rebate of up to 70 percent. On the other hand, Jaskani told me that he was overcharging parking fee only for an hour every day so that he could equalize the loss,” said Sultana.
Conducting the raids was a dangerous task as we were not provided with necessary police protection and even the CDGK did not depute city wardens to accompany us on such a dangerous job, regretted Sultana.
“I have caught the contractor red-handed and submitted a report and it is now up to the authorities to take further action,” she added.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\04\16\story_16-4-2009_pg12_3