BHOPAL: Three weeks after the free vehicle parking was introduced,‘illegal parking’ tickets are still being dispensed in the state capital. Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has yet to put up ‘free parking’ boards to inform citizens.
Uninformed citizens in various locations including MP Nagar are being charged by illegal operators . Their dressed resemble one provided by now abandoned parking operator. When confronted they agree BMC parking is free, but demand money since they are ‘taking care of the vehicles’. It would not be difficult to nab these illegal operators, as most of these locations are covered by BMC and police installed CCTV cameras. “You can call the police or the BMC. Nothing would happen,” said one such illegal operator in MP Nagar zone 1. The modus operandi involves charging monthly fee for blocking vehicle space for cars. Others wait for hookah bars and restaurant visitors to shell out premium parking cess.
Paid parking has been scrapped in Bhopal with exceptions by Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on May 1. The rationale to scrap paid parking given by the BMC is too many complaints against parking operators. Three weeks on, the number of complaints is almost nil, claimed BMC additional commissioner, Shashvat Meena. “There is positive feedback from all quarters for free parking introduced by the BMC. People are advised not to pay for parking (expect for premium parking at the New Market, multilevel parking at New Market, MP Nagar and Bairagarh),” said Meena. As for information boards that identify parking is free, he said, the board would be installed with relevant information and complaint numbers. To cover for revenue loss, BMC has introduced a nominal life time fee for parking with new vehicle registration. The volume of revenue for the first month would be known in the first week of June.
