Night parking continues unabated at Mysuru Road and Kempe Gowda Metro stations

BENGALURU: To earn quick bucks, parking contractors at two Metro stations violate contract conditions and provide parking for public throughout the night.This reporter saw two-wheelers and four-wheelers parked at Mysuru Road Metro station at the dead of night during the weekend. Asked if parking at nights was permitted, an employee of the contracted agency here, said, “Why not? We offer parking for 24 hours.”

The rates at night are clearly on the higher side. “We charge Rs 30 for two-wheelers and Rs 60 for four-wheelers if left here at night,” he said. These are the charges regularly levied for full-day parking (5 am to 11 pm) at the lots.Asked as to when they began offering parking during nights, the staffer said, “Right from the beginning we took on the contract, we are doing it.”Ironically, a circular from the General Manager (Finance) U A Vasanth Rao has been laminated and displayed at the entrance. The letter dated March 1, 2017, specifies, “Night parking has been prohibited as a matter of safety requirement. The parking lot can be operational only between the opening and closing hours of the Metro rail.”

The letter cautions that the licence of the contractor would be cancelled if this condition is violated. It adds that the refundable deposit paid to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited would be forfeited as well as vehicles parked here would be handed over to the police station.Apparently, no one seems to take this warning seriously.

Meanwhile, a staffer at Kempe Gowda Metro station, where parking facilities began operational recently, claimed that night parking was not permitted here. “BMRCL is very strict about it. We received a letter just eight days ago warning us against allowing night parking,” a staffer said.The parking lot, which does not have electricity in place yet, was pitch dark when this reporter visited the place. The staff barred this reporter from taking a look around this vast parking space. A senior Metro official on condition of anonymity said midnight parking was taking place at the station. “We come to work at night shifts and leave early too. Along with staff vehicles, many other vehicles get parked. I have pictures of vehicles parked here post-midnight to support my statement,” he said.Meanwhile, a few on Twitter have pleaded with BMRCL to introduce night parking. Largely doing night shifts, they felt it would make their lives easier if they could park their vehicles and report for work.