The latest racket: Streets lined with gold for charged parking contractors

Rangers personnel arrest 30 men for allegedly using bogus receipts to charge vehicle owners.

KARACHI:

It is said that Karachi's streets are lined with gold. No one realises this better than those who have made their fortunes from the 'illegal' trade of charged parking for vehicles.

It does not matter that there are no rules that allow anyone to charge vehicle owners for parking. These contractors, sub-contractors as well as their collectors set up shop at any suitable site and start harassing vehicle owners for parking fees.

The charges at these sites vary according to the whims and wishes of the collector and the sub-contractor. At some sites, the parking fees are Rs40 per vehicle; at others, it may go up to Rs60. The official parking fee for a car is Rs20, according to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).

What is remarkable is that most of these sites are not regulated by any of the civic agencies. The contractors do not even provide any insurance against the theft of vehicles parked at the sites.

Charged parking sites may well be the next lucrative source of income for opportunists as the fields of land grabbing and water hydrants get saturated. Recently, the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee jumped on the bandwagon and was given charge of the parking sites on Zaibunissa Street and its adjoining areas.

Enter the law enforcers

Tuesday night saw the first action taken by the paramilitary soldiers against the accused who they claim were workers of a political party, involved in the charged parking racket.

The Rangers arrested around 30 suspects from different areas of the city. According to sources, the suspects were arrested in a targeted campaign against the 'illegal parking mafia' in Boulton Market, Empress Market, Sindh Secretariat, Abdullah Haroon Road, Zainab Market, Jama Cloth Market and Gul Plaza.

These receipts are given out to motorcyclists who park their vehicles outside charged parking areas. The contractors are reportedly charging higher than the KMC-approved rates. PHOTO: EXPRESS

"These men used bogus receipts of charge parking to extort money from the citizens," said a Rangers official, on the condition of anonymity. The accused are still in the Rangers' custody and have yet to be handed over to the police.

The Rangers official told The Express Tribune that the accused had disclosed important information during the interrogation. "The money collected from illegal parking was deposited to a political party," he said. "We are not taking action against the KMC or cantonment boards. This action was against the illegal parking mafias using the names of the KMC and Cantonment."

According to the Rangers official, the illegal parking mafias are operating in various parts of the city, including Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B Area, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad and Tariq Road.

Citizens are compelled to pay the charges out of fear of losing their vehicles from the parking. "There is no place in Karachi where the parking mafia is not operational," said Farhan Khan, a resident of Gulberg. "Every mall and commercial area has an affiliated parking mafia. You simply cannot park your vehicle without paying them."



Officially, there are only 57 parking sites being run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in the city.  According to the corporation's rates, Rs5 is the charge for motorcycles, Rs20 for cars, Rs30 for coasters and Rs100 for buses. "Basically, it is the car washing mafia that is operating in the city," KMC charge parking director Raza Rizvi told The Express Tribune. "This car wash mafia used to operate in the Old City areas and they have expanded their illegal industry to the rest of the city in the shape of charged parking."

For his part, the Rangers spokesperson said that those involved in the illegal business will be brought to task. The decision to take action against them was taken in a recent meeting with the Rangers DG, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2014.