KMC revokes parking fee hike decision
In an about turn, the new parking fees promulgated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on April 1 were taken back exactly a week later, on April 8.
The reason, supposedly, is that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party is also in power in the civic body, led by Mayor Firhad Hakim, was not consulted about the hikes. So said Trinamool Congress spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.
The result is that the Rs 10 per hour parking fee for cars throughout the day is back, down from the time-graded Rs 20-40-100 structure. The old structure is also back for two-wheelers.
However, it is also a fact that several office-goers had tagged the corporation and Trinamool Congress in social media comments, complaining that, in the central business district (CBD) of Dalhousie, where parking space is scarce, they were being asked to shell out as much as Rs 660 per day by parking lot attendants.
The rollback was first announced on Trinamool’s Twitter handle on April 7, as a reply to one such tweet about exorbitant charges: “We thank KMC for rolling back the decision to hike parking charges in Kolkata. In these tough times, the government of West Bengal or KMC will never burden people.”
Hakim, initially unwilling to comment, said the chief minister’s wish would be honoured but he would have liked it if the decision had been conveyed to him personally instead of being announced on Twitter.
