Paying anyways: Charged parking at govt hospitals irks public

System is lucrative source of income for contractors in business

LAHORE: Amid buzzing ambulance sirens, a worried Ashif Ali parks his motorbike right outside the emergency ward of Jinnah Hospital at around 8pm, a fairly busy hour. Moments later, the bike is whisked away in what many see as an attempt to fill the pockets of contractors.

The missing vehicle only adds to his woes as the man has brought his sister-in-law, who is suffering from pregnancy complications, to the medical facility.

“I parked my motorbike outside the emergency ward in an urgent situation, but by the time I returned, the vehicle had been lifted,” Ali, a resident of Dubai Town on Raiwind Road tells The Express Tribune.

Ali and his sister-in-law belong to Okara, but were in the city because his sister-in-law’s complications could not be treated properly at home.

At the hospital that evening, Ali was suffering the consequences of parking his bike in the wrong spot. He was supposed to park in a designated area where a fee had to be paid, but was left with little choice due to the seriousness of the patient’s  condition

“They did not only lift my bike, but also unplugged one of its wires in doing so,” he says.

When he tried to retrieve the vehicle, which was now parked outside the hospital premises, the authorities refused to hand it back to him. The attendant already had a lot on his mind as his sister-in-law was struggling for her life and he needed to get medicines in an emergency. After paying Rs50 as a fine, he finally managed to get ahold of his own bike.

“It was a nightmare for me,” he recalls. “On the one hand, my sister-in-law was struggling for her life in the operation theatre, while on the other I had to deal with the authorities. They even started beating me after a heated exchange.”

Booming business

The parking system may be an attempt to clear space on the hospital premises, but it has become a lucrative source of income for contractors.

The government outsources parking contracts through bidding. These contractors earn a decent sum as many vehicles enter and leave government hospitals on a daily basis. These medical facilities include Mayo, Children and Sir Ganga Ram hospitals.

A rough estimate suggests 20,000 vehicles enter Jinnah Hospital daily – the situation is similar at other facilities.

The parking system is becoming an lucrative money-making business as contractors charge more than what is mentioned on the parking receipt. Although motorcycle owners have to pay Rs20 per visit, the slips at Jinnah Hospital had cleverly mentioned the amount as Rs30.

Attendants’ grievance

When asked, many people outside Jinnah Hospital were of the view that the government must end the charged parking system at public hospitals and provide free parking, just as it is done at amusement sites of the city.

“People come here for treatment,” Muhammad Arshad, an attendant at the hospital, says. “If the government fears the vehicles will be stolen [without such a system in place], they should give tickets free of charge.”

When asked, a health department spokesperson said there are chances of vehicles being stolen on hospital premises. He believed the fee was nominal enough for people to bear.

To a question, he said people complained that some of the contractors were charging an extra amount.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2016.