Sajid Bashir
Thursday, May 19, 2011
LAHORE
The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has failed to control over-charging by most of parking stands across the provincial metropolis, The News has learnt.
According to a survey conducted by The News, almost all parking stands across the city have doubled parking fee for all kinds of vehicles, in violation of the CDGL ordinance.
Previously, the parking stands were charging Rs 10 for a car, Rs 5 for a motorcycle and Rs 3 for a cycle. Now, they are charging Rs 20 for a car, Rs 10 for a motorcycle and Rs 5 for a cycle – an inconvenience to citizens. Interestingly, even the parking stands outside the District Coordination Office are charging double rates.
Sources in the Public Facilities Department of the CDGL revealed that there were almost 200 parking stands in the city and the department did not have sufficient manpower to check the parking stands on regular basis.
Sources claimed that influential parking stand mafia had been operating over 100 parking stands illegally on various city roads in connivance with CDGL officials for the last several years and the CDGL had completely failed to take any action against them. Besides, the department officials had also given free hand to the contractors to overcharge the visitors without any fear, they added.
The issue of overcharging by parking stand contractors is not a new phenomenon and a large number of public complaints against such contractors are awaiting action by the CDGL. The overcharging has not only doubled problems of the commuters but has also been causing traffic mess on the roads.
The major city roads – including Jail Road, Defence Road, Ferozpur Road, Circular Road, Wahdat Road, The Mall, Egertan Road, McLeod Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, MM Alam Road, Davis Road, Multan Road, and Iqbal Town Road – have become a hub of both legal and illegal parking stands. Most of these stands have encroached upon the service lanes besides the main roads.
Moreover, most of the restaurants, hotels, private hospitals, schools and colleges, banks, multi nationals and commercial buildings have also granted parking stand contracts outside their premises after encroaching upon the service lanes. They are also getting the same double amount from the parking contractors. Parking stands outside all the major private parks and other entertainment places have also started charging new rates. Similarly, all parking stands outside Qaddaffi Stadium are also charging Rs 10 for a motorcycle and Rs 20 for a car.
Due to establishment of illegal parking stands and extension of the CDGL parking stands, traffic blockage has become a routing matter on various major city roads.
Sufyan Saleem, a student, said that he had complained a number of times to the Public Facilities Department of CDGL against the overcharging by the contractor outside his academy in Anarkali area but to no avail.
Hamayon Gill, a government employee, said that the major reason of overcharging by the contractors was the lack of awareness because majority of the citizens did not know about the actual parking fee. He said that, if the government installed its own signboards displaying the rates at parking stands, the overcharging by these contractors could be discouraged.
When contacted, Kanwal Usman Saeed, District Officer (Public Facilities) said that the CDGL was planning to computerize all city parking stands after which they could monitor online the parking stands. He said that, presently, the department had not enough manpower to cover the entire city parking stands on regular basis.
He said that, as per the directions of Lahore DCO Ahad Cheema, they had started updating work on city parking stands and soon the plan of computerization of the parking stands would be approved. After that, he added, the department would be able to control the overcharging by the contractors.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=47738&Cat=5&dt=5/19/2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
LAHORE
The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has failed to control over-charging by most of parking stands across the provincial metropolis, The News has learnt.
According to a survey conducted by The News, almost all parking stands across the city have doubled parking fee for all kinds of vehicles, in violation of the CDGL ordinance.
Previously, the parking stands were charging Rs 10 for a car, Rs 5 for a motorcycle and Rs 3 for a cycle. Now, they are charging Rs 20 for a car, Rs 10 for a motorcycle and Rs 5 for a cycle – an inconvenience to citizens. Interestingly, even the parking stands outside the District Coordination Office are charging double rates.
Sources in the Public Facilities Department of the CDGL revealed that there were almost 200 parking stands in the city and the department did not have sufficient manpower to check the parking stands on regular basis.
Sources claimed that influential parking stand mafia had been operating over 100 parking stands illegally on various city roads in connivance with CDGL officials for the last several years and the CDGL had completely failed to take any action against them. Besides, the department officials had also given free hand to the contractors to overcharge the visitors without any fear, they added.
The issue of overcharging by parking stand contractors is not a new phenomenon and a large number of public complaints against such contractors are awaiting action by the CDGL. The overcharging has not only doubled problems of the commuters but has also been causing traffic mess on the roads.
The major city roads – including Jail Road, Defence Road, Ferozpur Road, Circular Road, Wahdat Road, The Mall, Egertan Road, McLeod Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, MM Alam Road, Davis Road, Multan Road, and Iqbal Town Road – have become a hub of both legal and illegal parking stands. Most of these stands have encroached upon the service lanes besides the main roads.
Moreover, most of the restaurants, hotels, private hospitals, schools and colleges, banks, multi nationals and commercial buildings have also granted parking stand contracts outside their premises after encroaching upon the service lanes. They are also getting the same double amount from the parking contractors. Parking stands outside all the major private parks and other entertainment places have also started charging new rates. Similarly, all parking stands outside Qaddaffi Stadium are also charging Rs 10 for a motorcycle and Rs 20 for a car.
Due to establishment of illegal parking stands and extension of the CDGL parking stands, traffic blockage has become a routing matter on various major city roads.
Sufyan Saleem, a student, said that he had complained a number of times to the Public Facilities Department of CDGL against the overcharging by the contractor outside his academy in Anarkali area but to no avail.
Hamayon Gill, a government employee, said that the major reason of overcharging by the contractors was the lack of awareness because majority of the citizens did not know about the actual parking fee. He said that, if the government installed its own signboards displaying the rates at parking stands, the overcharging by these contractors could be discouraged.
When contacted, Kanwal Usman Saeed, District Officer (Public Facilities) said that the CDGL was planning to computerize all city parking stands after which they could monitor online the parking stands. He said that, presently, the department had not enough manpower to cover the entire city parking stands on regular basis.
He said that, as per the directions of Lahore DCO Ahad Cheema, they had started updating work on city parking stands and soon the plan of computerization of the parking stands would be approved. After that, he added, the department would be able to control the overcharging by the contractors.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=47738&Cat=5&dt=5/19/2011
No comments:
Post a Comment