PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE: Established with the sole objective of resolving parking issues in the provincial capital, Lahore Parking Company (LePARK) has failed miserably to meet the expectations of citizens, The Express Tribune learnt on Thursday
Unauthorised, politically-backed private contractors and trade unions have established illegal parking stands in almost all commercial areas, especially big markets in posh areas. Most of these parking stands are established on service roads in front of plazas to mint money from citizens. Interestingly, no government agency is paying attention to the issue.
Right of way: Don't park on my footpath
Rehan Siddiqui, a motorist, complained that the parking operator in front of Gulberg Centre on the Main Boulevard was overcharging citizens by Rs20 per vehicle. The government notified charges of Rs30 for cars, but most parking stands in Gulberg and other posh areas were charging a higher fee.
“I believe most of these stands are also illegal because they ask motorists to park their vehicles on the service road and pay an extra fee. In some cases, private plazas are charging even higher parking fees on an hourly basis,” he remarked.
Similar complaints were made by several other citizens. Kashar Ali said it was strange that most of these illegal parking operators were wearing jackets of the city district government. They issued city district government-approved parking tickets and were busy overcharging the locals.
“LePARK was established to solve parking related problems in the city. There was a great buzz over electronic tickets and rotary parking machines in the city, but operations of the company were limited to a few places. In most areas, people are still dealing with unauthorised parking contractors,” he said.
Action against illegal parking irks showroom owners
LePARK General Manager Agha Mamoon told The Express Tribune that the company was earlier operating as a subsidiary of the City District Government Lahore which was later converted into the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore (MCL). On the orders of the local government, the company had established parking stands in different areas of the city. “It has nothing to do with private parking stands or illegal parking stands in the city. Although it is the responsibility of MCL, the Lahore Traffic Police chief recently launched action against illegal parking stands to improve the flow of traffic in the city.
The LePARK was established under section 32 of Companies’ Ordinance, 1984 as a subsidiary of the city district government with the aim to improve the existing parking system in the metropolis.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2017.
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