FAISALABAD: Khadim Hussain parked his motorcycle at the parking stand of Allied Hospital and got into an argument with the stand workers about why they were forcing him to pay Rs20 for parking whereas the fee was Rs10.

Instead of pacifying him, the stand employees suggested Hussain report this matter to the administration and wait for their decision. He had no option but to pay the sum and leave.

According to some estimates, 1,500 to 2,000 motorcycles are parked in this stand daily, which means the contractor is collecting Rs30,000 to Rs60,000 from hospital visitors and patients.

The Allied Hospital medical superintendent, Khurram Altaf, said the parking fee for motorcycles was Rs10. If anyone complained, they would fine the guilty people at least Rs5,000 each time they overcharged, he added. He said they had even handed over some guilty parking employees to police and fined them many times.

Hussain said the Faisalabad Parking Company was charging Rs10 for a motorcycle at all their stands on main roads, but the contractor of Allied Hospital was charging Rs20 for each motorbike and Rs10 for a bicycle. He said a couple of weeks ago he had complained to the hospital administration against the contractor, but no action was taken against him because of which he continued to overcharge.

The contractor has displayed a board at the entrance to the parking stand saying that parking fee for a bicycle and motorcycle was Rs10. However, the fee mentioned on the parking slip is Rs20.

When the workers at the stand were asked why they had been fleecing motorists and overcharging them, they claimed the parking fee of Rs20 for motorcycles had been approved by the hospital administration and the board at the entrance was old, which they had forgotten to remove.

Talking to Dawn, some motorists said no parking fee was being charged at entertainment and recreational points such as Jinnah Park. But, parking fee has been imposed on hospitals where people come to seek treatment. They claimed that parking fee was a form of tax being collected even from the poor. Healthcare should be tax-free, they stressed.

“A hospital employee told me that the contractor was fined only Rs5,000 recently,” Ahtesham, a hospital visitor, said. He said it was the weakness of the hospital administration or they were hand in glove with the parking contractor who was fleecing masses.

Ahtesham criticised doctors of the hospital who were on strike. He asked if the Medical Teaching Institutions Act would usurp the patients’ rights and deprive them of free facilities, why are the doctors not moving against the parking contractor who is exploiting them daily?

Medical Superintendent Dr Altaf did not respond when asked who would cancel the parking contract despite repeated violations by the contractor.

Commissioner Javeed Mehmood was asked why a parking fee was being charged at state-run hospitals when no such charges were levied at recreational facilities. However, despite reading the WhatsApp message, he did not respond.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2019