As online debate rages, public divided on issue

Thiruvananthapuram: While the state government is mulling over an amendment to regulate collection of parking fees in shopping complexes, city residents are finding their own ways of protests. Some residents skip paying the fee and the mall staff do not bother confronting them but just seek permission to take a picture of the vehicle.
One such instance was recounted in ‘Where In Trivandrum (WIT)’, a Facebook group, where a user posted his experience of going to one of the malls in the city recently. “I was expecting them to ask for parking fees and was all prepared to deny it. The guy, with a smiling face, asked for 30 bucks. I politely refused and said, ‘By rule, you can’t collect parking fees from me’. Then, he asked for permission to take a picture of the vehicle. I said, ‘By all means’. He took a picture and threw away the bill,” read the post.
The unresolved debate of whether parking fees should be paid at shopping malls has led to heated discussions on online forums. The people seem to be divided over opinions for varying reasons.
Many supported the post citing similar instances and observations on the issue. “The corporation has to take up this issue,” said one user in the comments. “Been there, went through the same event, people around me just said pay off Rs 30 and get over it. My issue was, he was collecting cash even without issuing a ticket,” read another comment.
There were also a few comments supporting the commercial complexes, empathizing with them over the parking fee collection as a way of compensating for the losses incurred due to the pandemic. “I agree but I think they also need to survive… parking fees are a source of revenue for them. Wouldn’t mind paying them now more than ever,” commented a user.
Former LSG minister M V Govindan recently told the assembly that the government has decided to amend the rules to ensure the regulation of parking fee collection.
The government had earlier sought reports from the local bodies on the issue of illegal collection of parking fees at shopping malls. The civic body submitted to the state government that it was not acceptable to let owners collect parking fees from customers on spaces which were mandatorily marked for parking as per the building rules.