Traders oppose RCB decision to impose parking fee

There is not a single parking plaza as well as a park lot on the linked roads with markets

RAWALPINDI: Trader unions of cantonment area have decided to resist the decision of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) of awarding parking fee contracts for markets of Saddar.

There is not a single parking plaza as well as a parking lot on the linked roads with markets of Saddar including Bank Road, Haider Road, Kashmir Road, Adamjee Road, Railway Police Station Road and  Railway Road while the ill-administrated and illegal parking on  these roads has wreaked havoc with the traffic there.

Further, a huge government owned land at Haider road was previously allocated for parking of vehicles coming to markets on these roads but the vacant land is now being built with new shops for commercial activities. Instead of taking measures to rectify this situation, the government has  decided to impose a parking fee on vehicles parked on these roads for which it will award the contract.

The Traders Union General Secretary Zafar Qadri told the trading community was carrying out consultation against this decision and added that the cantonment board had no legal authority to impose a parking fee without the existence of a parking lot.

Further, the union will unveil its future stance after the meeting with the Cantonment Executive Officer, Sabtain Raza on Monday.

However, he asserted that they will not allow awarding such a contract in any case no matter if they had to move the courts as well for this purpose.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2019.