KARACHI, May 6: People visiting hospitals have not been exempted from the parking fee in the new charged parking scheme being introduced by the city government from July 1.

The new scheme also provides no relief to the people who would be visiting the Zoological Gardens, Safari Park, Hill Park, Bagh-i-Jinnah, Jehangir Kothari/Park Tower, Clifton Aquarium and the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

On the contrary, the four places which have excluded from the existing list of charged parking include Frere Hall, PSO Clifton, Saadi Arcade, Clifton and KMC Sports Ground.

It is, however, amazing that while, the people visiting hospitals have not been exempted from charged parking, about 245 members of the city council including Nazims of 178 union councils and others elected on seats reserved for women, labourers and minority, and journalists covering the city government, have been exempted from the charged parking.

Among the 22 places from where the contractor has been authorized to collect the parking fee for the year 2003-2004 (from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004) include two hospitals — North Nazimabad’s Ziauddin Hospital and the A.O. Clinic in Nazimabad.

The places which have been designated for charged parking are: Hyderi Market, Federal B’ Area’s Water pump/Anarkali, Old City Area, PIDC, Saddar, Radio Pakistan, Tariq Road, Sharea Faisal, Hotel Metropole/Mereweather Road, Hassan Square, Gulbahar, S M Taufeeq Road, Clifton Centre, Crystal Court, Paradise Centre, Civic Centre, Alladin Park’s service Road, Bagh-i-Jinnah, Safari Park, Jehangir Kothari/Park Tower, Hill Park, Faizee Rahimeen Art Gallery/auditorium, Clifton Aquarium, Boat Basin, Dargah Abdullah Shah Ghazi, A. O. Clinic, Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Sindbad, Funland and Dr Ziauddin Hospital.

Asked about the parking fee collectors’ identification, the city government’s charged parking committee’s chairman, Muslim Pervaiz, who is also senior presiding officer of the city council, said it would mandatory upon the contractor to ensure that parking fee collectors must wear a proper uniform and possess identification cards to be authenticated by the city government.

However, one of the salient features of the new charged- parking scheme is that a Rs 5 parking ticket in case of a motorcycle and Rs 10 parking ticket in case of a four-wheeler will be applicable at all the designated sites for three hours.

Moreover, the owners of motorcycles and four-wheelers would be charged Rs 5 and Rs 10, respectively, for the whole day.

The CPC chief said as against a number of contractors who were earlier awarded contracts, the city district government has now given a contract of all the 22 designated parking sites to only one contractor for Rs 61.2 million as against the current fiscal year’s contract of Rs 47.8m.

He said under the terms and conditions of the new charged parking contract, the firm which had been awarded the contract for collecting parking fee from all the 22 parking sites will be required to issue concessional monthly parking tickers/passes for Rs500 to owners of four-wheelers and Rs200 to motorcyclists.

About the fee at the parking areas of hospitals which people either visit in emergency or to meet patients, he said he would ask the contractor to charge parking fee from hospitals’ parking sites only after the owners of vehicles return from hospitals.

To another query, he said that a strict vigilance would be maintained on the activities of those handling the show and it would be ensured that the people are not harassed and that the terms and conditions of the contract are strictly followed and not violated.

“If their are violations, these will result in the cancellation of the contract”.