Address parking scams with unparalleled zeal

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Those who follow the global geopolitical scenario will often hear people say that the next war is going to be fought over water. The next battle in this city is going to be fought over a parking space. With a severe crunch and vehicles being bought at a fever pitch, it is car, car everywhere and not a place to park for Mumbaikars.

Our front page report about an Instagram video exposing an alleged parking scam at Kala Ghoda, prompting MRA Marg police to conduct a sting operation, has sparked a frenzy of ‘investigate this too'. In this fraud, a 36-year-old man has been arrested accused of illegally collecting money, he collected Rs 100 for someone while he was being set up to be trapped, from motorists at a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) parking lot that is officially free to use.

The point is that drivers simply do not know whether a parking lot is free or not. The civic body needs to specify with signboards that the lot is free. If this is a paid lot, then rates and hours need to be written specifically on boards outside. With people completely unaware of who is genuine or a fraud and clueless about how to distinguish them, with even touts doling out ‘paavtis' (receipts), they are bound to fall victim to these scams. While some activities may be unknown, it is difficult to believe that our police, traffic authorities, and civic personnel had no clue about daylight robbery in a highly visible, prestigious spot. These scams are all over the city. Start cracking down now, and address this with visionary zeal so that people know the status of the parking lot.