MARGAO: The strong opposition to the manner in which the new pay parking charges at the Margao Railway station is being implemented escalated on Monday morning, with a scuffle breaking out between a taxi driver and the staff of the pay parking contractor and the latter assaulting the former.
The dispute was over the fact that the taxi driver was being charged for being in the parking area of the Railway station allegedly for more than 10 minutes, which the taxi driver objected to.
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As per the rule, parking is free for 10 minutes.Post the scuffle, locals gathered in large numbers, and there was a public demand that the pay parking system be withdrawn.
It may be recalled that Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC) had temporarily suspended the pay parking system and had restarted it on Sunday.
Incidentally, the problems associated with this controversial pay parking system resurfaced too, with people visiting the station alleging that they were either being overcharged or that they were not being given receipts.
Speaking to the media, KRC officials said that a warning has been issued to the contractor to behave better with customers and also to provide receipts that details of the entry and exit timings. KRC officials added that leniency of five minutes extra time can be added to the 10 minutes, during which there is no charge for a vehicle entering the parking lot.
Reacting to the incident, the representative of the parking contractor claimed it was the taxi driver who was aggressive while the locals alleged that the contract staff were the ones who were aggressive. The contractor’s representative, however, said that the taxi driver had crossed the 10-minute limit.
Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) convenor Savio Coutinho, who had rushed to the spot, condemned what he termed a ‘brutal assault’ on the taxi driver, who lives nearby. Coutinho voiced his concerns over the strong-arm techniques adopted by the parking contractor to extort money from motorists visiting the railway station.
He also criticized both the Railway Police and Konkan Railway Police Force (RPF), who both have outposts nearby, for not intervening on the grounds that the incident doesn’t come under the purview of their respective stations. RPF eventually called upon the Margao town police to take over the matter.
“It was shocking to see how the RPF was concerned about the property of the parking contractor, which was damaged by the irate crowd that gathered after the assault; however, there was no concern shown towards the injured victim,” Coutinho lamented. He further said citizens are being looted by the pay parking system.
