Charged parking contractors bilk citizens blind

In the bustling metropolis of Karachi, where all things come at a cost and money is hard to keep trail of, sometimes the price tags can be a little deceiving. So is also true for the hundreds of charged parking sites, where gullible citizens are hoodwinked left, right and centre.

The official tariff for parking a motorcycle is Rs10 in most areas of the city while stationing a car is taxed at Rs30. “However, it is rare that these rates are actually charged. Rather, parking contractors across Karachi tend to carry forged receipts with double the price and fleece drivers into paying extortionate tariffs,” complained Adnan Ahmed, a citizen who haggles just to pay the official price whenever he has to park his vehicle anywhere close to the throbbing Zainab Market area.

According to Alam Khan, who had an appointment at the passport office, the parking fee collectors there routinely badger car drivers into paying Rs50 to station their vehicles. “It’s unfair, but it’s a busy area and everyone is in a hurry, so most people just give out whatever is asked for instead of demanding official receipts to save time and energy,” said the irked citizen. “This is what the feel collectors also bank on,” he added.

Despite being the oldest trick in the book and agencies being well aware of the trickery enough to entertain the matter in the court of law, parking tariff scam continues to swindle hundreds and thousands of rupees out of Karachiites every day. In a bid to curb the crime, local authorities had erected notice boards along various highways, bringing official tariffs into the public eye. “DMC South did the same on Abdullah Haroon Road, but shifty contractors quickly blocked out the public notice with dirty rags and continued to charge extortionate rates,” said an informer who wished not to be named.

Similar activities have also been reported in other high-traffic areas like City Station and parts of Gulistan E Jauhar by the public. Parking-fee collectors in these areas however maintain that they only charge tariffs prescribed by the government. “But if a person wants to pay a little extra out of the goodness of their heart, we do not turn down their kindness,” alleged one fee collector denying reports of forged receipts being circulated.

Read: Revised plan: Karachi traffic police makes allowances for smaller vehicles

Addressing the matter District South’s Municipal Commissioner Akhtar Sheikh corroborated the reports of widespread parking tariff scams in the port city, which his office has been trying to curb through various means of public awareness. These include installing notice boards on major highways, in addition to publishing official receipt books and circulating them among the contractors. “That being said, the citizens should still remain vigilant and report any scams of the category they observe to the following numbers: 02199211429 or 03002253671,” Sheikh added.

Oddly, however, when officials of The Express Tribune tried to contact the aforementioned numbers, the landline remained unreachable despite various attempts while the mobile number appeared to be incorrect.

Probed regarding the matter, Municipal Commissioner Akhtar Sheikh maintained that the landline number is temporarily closed due to non-payment while he has no knowledge of the incorrect mobile number.