Motorists being harrased by parking fee collectors
By Azizullah Sharif
KARACHI, June 22: Harassment of motorists at the hands of parking fee collectors continues unabated and unchecked at different parking sites of the city government.
Adopting the role of policemen, employees of private contractors who are only authorised to collect parking fee from the motorists at the city government’s designated parking sites, have developed the habit of clamping vehicles whose owners, finding no parking fee collector around, leave them in the parking zone without obtaining the required parking slip. They charge between Rs100 and Rs200 for unclamping vehicles. They do not charge those who park their vehicles in front of famous sweet shops and eatable houses on Tariq Road as their owners allegedly grease their palms.
Similarly, they do not dare charge the vehicles having government or army number plates.
Complaints regarding charging of parking fee in other than designated parking sites also continue to pour.
As soon as such vehicles are spotted by fee collectors, they immediately inform their supervisors who keep on roaming in the vicinity of parking sites, and without waiting for owners of such vehicles and without ascertaining the actual cause of not paying the parking fee, clamp the vehicles.
Interestingly the so-called supervisors of private parking fee contractors do not stay around after clamping vehicles and leave a mobile phone number with their subordinates (parking fee collectors).
The motorist, upon his arrival to the parking zone, is shocked to see that his vehicle has been clamped. He then starts locating the parking fee collector who tells him to contact his supervisor on the cellular phone as only he possesses the key.
If the owner of the vehicle does not have cellular phone he has to go to some nearby public call office to contact the supervisor. The supervisor, who often takes between 15 minutes to half-an-hour to reach the place where he has clamped the vehicle, charges between Rs100 and 200 for unclamping his vehicle.
The motorists who have been victimised by parking fee contractor’s supervisors wonder who has authorised private persons to clamp their vehicles.
Terming such acts illegal and immoral, a motorist who identified himself as Shayan and whose vehicle was clamped at Saddar’s parking zone a couple of days back, said that it seemed as if the law of the jungle was prevailing in the city.
“The day my vehicle was clamped I had an appointment with a doctor. But owing to the delay caused while locating the supervisor for getting my vehicle unclamped, I could not see the doctor,” he said and added that the supervisor not only charged Rs100 for unclamping his vehicle but also misbehaved with him.
Another motorist, Samad, whose vehicle was clamped at Tariq Road’s parking zone, said he missed his flight as it took him more than one and a half hour to trace the supervisor.
A similar incident took place at Nazimabad Chowrangi sometime back when the private parking officials had clamped the vehicle of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s MNA Kanwar Khalid Younus. Those who had clamped the MNA’s vehicle were given a tough time by the MNA. What can a common man do in the face of these ruffians.
