Rise in plaints against parking system

Thiruvananthapuram: Think twice before you park your vehicle at the parking lot in the Trivandrum Central Station or you might end up paying additional parking fee. This is what had happened with IT professional Rajesh V, who parked his vehicle for 50 consecutive days at the railway parking area.
Rajesh had parked his bike on May 17, before boarding a train to Madurai where he works.On his return journey after 50 days on Wednesday, he was handed over a parking ticket fee ticket for 60 days.
"I was asked to pay an amount of Rs 928 as the date showed that it has been charged from May 6. Even after pointing out that I had parked my vehicle on May 17, they refused to accept it. The date on the carbon-printed parking ticket that was issued to me had faded and they issued me a fake bill with an earlier date. They might have tampered with the machine. I may not be the first person to fall for this trick," said Rajesh.
Rajesh later filed a complaint with Thampanoor police station. And he got his bike back, after paying an amount of Rs 750 as parking fees.
The central station has two different parking spaces - premium and normal parking area. Majority of people prefer the normal parking area due to the comparatively lower rates charged.
"We issue tenders to a contractor and regular review is conducted. No complaints have been registered so far. The contractor does not maintain a separate record. However, due to the error in machine they had to format the digital documents," said an official with the railways.
The ticket rate is decided by the railways and tickets are issued through vending machines. An amount of Rs 15 per day is charged for two-wheeler for more than 24 hours.
The commercial department had initiated internal inquiry in this regard. "It is the first time that such an issue has come to our notice. No complaints have been registered in this regard at the station. Public can directly register a complaint at the station," said V C Sudheesh, senior divisional commercial manager.