Parking mafia at colleges

Students forced to pay for parking on campus in violation of UGC norms

Prominent colleges in the city are openly flouting UGC guidelines and forcing students to pay parking charges to contractors who run on-campus parking lots.

Ameya Jagtap, president of Youth To Youth Foundation and who recently graduated from Symbiosis Institute of Design, said, "The parking areas in colleges are given to contractors to operate for a fee and they in turn charge the students anything between Rs 2 and Rs 3 for two-wheelers, and Rs 5 for four-wheelers. Even cycles are charged Re 1."

Jagtap added that some college parking lots did not even give receipts.

"As for those that do give receipts, on the reverse of the receipt it is printed that the vehicle is to be parked at the owner's risk and in case of theft or damage the receipt issuer is not responsible," said Jagtap.

Manish Pande, a final-year BA student of MIT, said, "We have no choice but to pay for parking in the college.

Actually, the college should provide parking as a facility, but here we are charged for it!"
Abhay Tayal, a law student of Bharati Vidya Peeth, said, "Now, it's become a part of my routine. I always check to see that I have some change so that I can pay and park."

Nikhil Ramesh, who graduated from Fergusson College in 2009, said, "I remember I used to pay Rs 2.50 for parking my bike in college. Some friends had scratches on their bikes, some had the indicator lights broken, some even found petrol missing."

MiD-DAY did a check around city colleges to get a first-hand experience of what happens at their parking lots.

At Bharati Vidya Peeth, Kothrud, we had to pay Rs 3 for parking. A receipt (no. 132, dated March 9)
was issued, but it was not freshly torn from a receipt book. Pulled out of the attendant's back pocket, it apparently had been returned by someone.

At IMDR (Deccan Education Society) the parking fee was Rs 2, and no receipt was given.

At both places, authorities would not name the contractor operating the parking lot, instead directing us to the main offices, that is Bharati Bhavan and Deccan Education Society. For faculty members, there was a free parking zone.

The pay-and-park system was also found at SP College, Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce and Marathwada College.