A Boi Mela visitor forks out a fee for parking his vehicle in a designated free-parking zone. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Visitors to Boi Mela 2008 are being forced to pay for keeping their cars in an area designated a free-parking zone by the organisers.

The steering committee of Boi Mela 2008 had announced that parking would be free for visitors around Subhas Sarobar and opposite AMRI Hospital. However, the parking lot opposite AMRI is a fee-parking area, being manned by a cooperative society for over five years.

The organisers have put up a board there, stating that parking has been made free for the duration of the fair. But the society continues to collect parking fees, saying that it hasn’t received any official word.

“I parked here because it is a free-parking zone and ended up paying Rs 50 for five hours,” said Santanu Chanda, an engineer who works in Sector V.

“People can’t just plant a board and make the area a free car park. The fair authorities did not consult us and we did not receive any directive from them,” asserted Arijit Kundu, a member of the cooperative society.

“This is our source of income. We can’t stop collecting parking fee for the sake of the fair,” he added.

The public relations officer of the fair, Soumitra Lahiri, said: “We are not aware of the problem.” He promised to look into the matter.

“I have received complaints about parking fee being charged in a free-parking zone. We had requested the society not to collect parking fees from visitors to the fair. It seems that we have to request them again,” said Tapas Ghosh, a member of the Boi Mela steering committee and secretary (ground security).

“There is confusion because the fee and free parking zones opposite AMRI are not clearly demarcated,” said a senior district police officer.

It is the visitors who are suffering as a result. “If I knew that a parking fee was being charged outside AMRI, I would have parked my car near Subhas Sarobar,” said Sabbir Jawed, a resident of Ballygunge.