Ooty: The Citizen Consumer Club of Nilgiris (CCCN) appealed to the district and police administration in the Nilgiris to act tough against those who fleece tourists as well as locals in the name of parking fee collection across the hills. This is especially high in Coonoor town limits.
Charging that officials concerned are turning a deaf ear to the issue, president of the CCCN, S. Sivasubramaniam, said that irregularities and corruption in parking fee collection have reached alarming heights.
In Coonoor town limits, those who claim to be contractors for collecting parking fees, levy exorbitant fares even to stop or park vehicles on the roadsides, especially in the Sim’s Park area.
While enquiries revealed that the Coonoor municipality has fixed between Rs 3 to Rs 10 per vehicle as parking fee charges for different types of vehicles parked on the roadsides, contractors collect between Rs 50/- and Rs 150/.
What is more shocking is that the contractors use the rubber-stamp of the municipality to indulge in this corruption without filling the date and signature columns in the receipt they issue, he said.
He further added that it was suspected that the concerned local body officials were hand in glove with the contractors to commit this fraud.
Stating that the district as well the police administration should display flex boards in the parking areas indicating the fee fixed for various types of vehicles, and the phone numbers to lodge complaints, if any, he appealed to the district administration to take action against the concerned officials who fail to check this in the Nilgiris.
