Gurgaon parking lots empty as users don’t have cash

Residents do not have lower denomination notes to pay the parking charges

Parking lots in Gurgaon sport a deserted look as residents do not have lower denomination notes to pay the parking charges. This has also led to an increase in incidents of on-street parking as vehicle owners claim they have no other option.

Vehicle owners claimed that parking lot operators often don’t even have change for Rs. 100. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

“We had gone to a mall on MG Road for shopping, but as my father was not carrying any change, he had to park on the roadside. By the time we returned, an entire row of cars had formed as people did not have notes of a lower denomination to pay for parking,” said Anirudh Sharma of Sector 15.

Residents said parking lots are not equipped with card swiping machines and at most parking spaces, the operators do not even have change for Rs. 100.

“I had to park my car on the roadside near a mall as there was no money to pay for parking. My wife asked if we could pay through our card or e-wallets, but the attendants said they were not equipped with such facilities. It is a risk and we were scared that the police might tow our car, but we were lucky,” said Mohit Sharma of Nirvana Country.

Some residents found ingenious ways in the absence of change. One such resident, Ashish Grover, said he paid the guards at a mall in MG Road for parking by buying them samosas from a nearby shop.

Traffic police officials too confirmed that there has been a rise in incidents of unauthorised parking. As per police records, more than 1,000 challans for such parking were issued in Gurgaon post-November 9 while only around 920 were issued in the first week of November.

“The police is issuing challans to anyone breaking traffic rules. There has definitely been an increase in the number of people parking on the roadside and most of them claim that they do not have change and were unable to pay at the parking lots,” said traffic police official and in-charge of challaning branch, Hansraj.

A traffic police official said the number of challans issued after November 9 would have been much higher, but issuing challans was reduced the first few days after demonetisation was announced due to confusion over payment of fines.