Panaji pay-parking resumes, operator cites revenue loss

PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji has restarted pay-parking in the state capital after a hiatus of six weeks.
It is presently operational for only 12 hours.
“We started after obtaining permission from the CCP but we can only operate for 12 hours due to the lockdown,” the contractor Sohan Juwarker told TOI.
He is receiving only around 50 percent of collections compared to the pre-lockdown period. “The number of cars are very low. All private establishments are only operating with 30-50% staff and everything is shut by 6.30 pm,” he added.
Pay-parking has resumed for both two and four-wheelers in most stretches.
“Thankfully, all our staff are in town and didn’t go back. We did face a loss during the lockdown and we are talking to the corporation. We provide accommodation for our boys and had to provide them with food and salaries. Everything was taken care of. The loss was equivalent to a loss of three to four months’ revenue,” he said.
Pay-parking in the state capital, which began in February, came to a standstill on March 22. The Rs 1.6 crore pay parking contract between Juwarker Associates and CCP is valid for three years. The company had paid the corporation a bank guarantee and security deposit for the three-year contract.
Before the lockdown, pay parking was operational 24 x7 including on Sundays and public holidays. A parking fee once paid, is considered valid for any other parking location within CCP’s jurisdiction for the duration of that particular time slot. Government vehicles are exempt from parking charges.
CCP’s last pay-parking contract ended on April 30, 2017, and neither brought in the required revenue for the cash-strapped corporation, nor helped ease traffic congestion in the city.