The good news is that for the time being, you can park your car on any street in Salt Lake for free. The bad news is that it is not clear who pocketed any fees you may have paid for parking in the entire month of April.
The men who come collecting your parking fees when you drive away from a spot are employed by an agency. These agencies bid for tenders floated by Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC). The agencies pay the Corporation the decided sum of money, and against it, charge you the Rs 20 or so for parking in a fee parking zone.
While most residents will eagerly lodge copious complaints about how they are fleeced by parking attendants, at present, they are not being accosted by any. Parking spots around the Manipal hospitals, Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Centre, Rabindra Okakura Bhavan, and the like are as crammed as ever, but when the cars leave, no one is coming to ask for a fee.
Unmanned parking lots at Rabindra Okakura Bhavan and opposite Park View Hospital near HB Park
Regulars who park here, as well as hawkers who used to serve the parking attendants, have just one line to say: “Chaar tarikh er por shob paliye gyachhe (everyone has vanished after May 4, the day the election results were declared.)”
Perils of parking
“Before May 4, the parking boys would decide the fee based on — not hours parked but — the size and make of the car. They’d quote Rs 50, Rs 100, and scribble the amount on a chit and hand us. It wasn’t even a genuine receipt,” said Arun Tiwari, a driver who ferries an officer to a government building behind Manipal Hospital Salt Lake (erstwhile Columbia Asia).
Asim Das, a medical representative who comes here three or four times a month, says he would previously be asked to pay a flat Rs 20 for parking his scooter here the entire day but no one has been showing up.
Car parking between The Sonnet and De Sovrani hotels in DD Block
“There used to be four or five parking attendants working here. They’d come in uniform too,” says Jharna De, who runs a tea stall on the stretch. “I haven’t seen any after the government changed.”
Siyaram Yadav drives a car that ferries passengers to DownTown Mall in IB Block, and he recalls traumatic episodes with the old parking boys. “They would ritually harass us. Once, I was leaving the venue late at night, and they came to demand an exorbitant fee, a ride till Ultadanga, and even a bottle of alcohol!” he says, glad to not have to deal with them again.
Carpool owners around Our Lady Queen of the Missions School in HB Block say the interactions even turned violent. “Parking attendants would collect a lump sum from us every month, and if we were even a day or two late, they would abuse and harass us, snatch our car keys, and walk off. Imagine a car full of kids, hungry and waiting to go home, while our roads were blocked by ruffians. This went on for at least 30 minutes, till I somehow arranged the money to pay the ransom,” said a carpool owner, requesting not to be named.
The drivers recall the time parking attendants even hit a child’s father over an altercation. “These excesses began in 2022, but we didn’t have the courage to speak up as they would claim to be connected to the councillor,” said another carpool owner. “Now the tables have turned. Every month we had to pay them by the 10th, but no turned up in May or June.”
Cars parked at will in front of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School
It’s the same story across the township. “I would regularly be charged for parking in a lane around Rabindra Okakura Bhavan, which wasn’t even a fee parking zone, unlike the main road. The chaps had no uniform, no I-card, and wouldn’t even give tickets. I would comply as I didn’t want to haggle over Rs 20,” says Rhiju Bose of AE Block, who has not encountered any parking attendant in recent weeks.
But some car owners admit they felt safer having paid the fee. “Without paying, I’m not even sure if the spot I parked in is a no-parking zone. I’d rather pay Rs 20 than have the cops put spikes on my wheels,” said Debashis Das, who parked near Parkview Super Speciality Hospital on Monday.
Point & counterpoint
Sources at the Corporation said that the contracts with agencies to collect parking fees expired on March 31.
“So on paper, no one should have been charging parking fees in the month of April,” said an official.
A tender for new parking zones had been floated in January with 18 zones, of which seven matured. “Some zones did not get bidders, so we will float tenders afresh for them. But due to election-related delays, work orders could not be issued for the seven matured zones either. Till that happens, no one should be charging for parking,” the official said.
The Corporation has, however, been putting up conspicuous yellow boards on streets specifying that they are parking zones.
Car parking on an empty plot next to Abcos Food Plaza in IB Block
A senior official of the Corporation said that the issue would be looked into. “We need time to settle many matters since the dissolution of the last board. If agencies are indeed found to have continued charging fees after the contract expiry in March, we shall issue an extension for the month of April. We will ensure that the Corporation does not lose money.”
The agencies are waiting impatiently for the work order. “We have won tenders and paid the amounts, but are facing losses as we have staff to pay, but no revenue. If we are kept cooling our heels indefinitely, the agencies that operate in Salt Lake will move court,” says Keshav Patra of Ruma Travels, that has won the contract for the space around Parkview in HB Block and the stretch from City Centre to Poura Bhavan.
Past imperfect
The township’s stint with illegal parking is not new. Dibyayan Banerjee, an advocate from Survey Park who frequently visits the township, filed an RTI application with the BMC in 2023 seeking details on public parking, including authorised zones, revenue, and tender contracts. When BMC did not respond, he lodged a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Yet another unmanned parking lot at Manipal Hospital Salt Lake
Separately, Sanjib Sinha Choudhury, a Purbachal resident, filed a PIL against BMC over illegal parking and extortion by unauthorised attendants after his friend was assaulted by them outside Manipal Hospitals in IB Block. The Calcutta High Court directed BMC to clearly demarcate parking zones, display fee structures, ensure attendants wear uniforms and carry I-cards etc. but implementation was weak.
“Parking was a racket under the previous board, and it was not possible without the knowledge of the councillors of the respective areas,” said Sinha Choudhury.
“It’s good riddance that the illegal attendants have disappeared, and I hope the new civic board awards contracts to honest agencies that employ local unemployed youths,” he said, summing up the situation.