No lane for parking, oblivious visitors made to pay hefty penalty at Chandigarh Railway Station

Sanjay Bumbroo

Chandigarh, September 27

In the absence of a separate lane for general parking, confusion prevails among visitors unaware of the new pick up and drop off system introduced at the Chandigarh Railway Station.

Pick up and drop off tickets are being issued to unsuspecting visitors, who, oblivious to the hefty penalty, fail to specify that they intend to use the general parking. Those exceeding the six-minute limit, despite having parked their vehicles in the parking area, end up paying between Rs 200 and Rs 1,000 on exit.

The parking contractor is yet to set up a separate lane for general parking, as a result of which vehicle owners are forced to use the pick up and drop off lane.

A retired Army officer said he had gone to pick up his daughter, who had arrived in the Shatabdi Express. While exiting, the parking attendant asked for Rs 1,000. On objection, the attendant allegedly misbehaved with him.

He reasoned the charges were unrealistic as he was held up in a long queue of vehicles at the exit point due to the rush. He claimed around five persons blocked his car, as if he had committed a crime.

A random visit to the railway station in the evening, when the Shatabdi Express arrives, revealed most of the vehicle owners ended up paying Rs 50 to Rs 200 for exceeding the six-minute time limit. Most of them complained of being held up in long queues inside the zone.

Most of the passengers were seen walking out of the railway station to get cabs as drivers were reluctant to enter the railway station, fearing penalty.

For his part, parking supervisor Shashi Kant said there was some confusion among visitors in the initial days, but with the passage of time, people were getting aware of the new system. He said the general parking lane would be ready in a couple of days.

Caught in jam, many penalised

• Many visitors caught up in queues inside the zone were made to pay Rs 50 to Rs 200 for exceeding six-minute time limit on Tuesday
• Passengers were seen walking out of railway station to get cabs as drivers were reluctant to enter zone, fearing penalty

CCTV cameras, boom barriers soon

• Parking contractor will install broom barriers and CCTV cameras at the entry as well as exit gates of the railway station in next few days

Specify at booth

People planning to park vehicles in general parking should mention that to ticket vendor. They will be charged Rs 30 for first two hours. — Shashi Kant, parking supervisor