The city streets to manage the pay and park lots on the roads at three zones of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
To ensure vehicles are parked properly and ease the traffic burden of the city, former commissioner D Thara had proposed a plan to rope in women from self help groups to manage the parking lots. In 2016, a total of 200 such women were trained. They have been working in the city streets to manage the pay and park lots on the roads at three zones of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Most people have been issuing cheques to these women, as they doubt whether they really are AMC workers. At present, the 200 female workers are deployed at 65 different spots in the city.
Unfortunately, they struggle to assert their identity to people. Their designations are doubted despite them issuing memos with the civic body. What triggers this reaction from people is the lack of identity cards. These women do not have identity cards.
In a bizarre case that happened to Manjula Makwana, one of the collectors assigned to take care of a stretch in the west zone, she was handed over a cheque of Rs 15 when she asked a car owner to pay the parking fee.
"A man had parked the car on the road side for around half an hour. Legally, he is bound to pay Rs 15 for doing so. But, after arguing for long over the issue, he claimed he didn't have cash on him," said Makwana.
"I asked him to cut me a cheque if he is carrying one. Doubting the authenticity of my claims, he wrote a cheque in favour of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. We are not extorting people in the nae of law; this money doesn't fill our pockets, people should understand," she said.
Makwana has laminated that cheque as a proof of how she has been treated during her feat at the AMC parking lot! She had to pay Rs 15 to the civic body from her own pocket, later.
"On several occassions, people argue that they had parked their vehicle for very less time, and refuse to pay parking charge. We have to explain the rules to them then — If they are parking their vehicle outside the white mark on the road, they have to pay the parking fees," said Mina Bochiya, another woman looking into parking lots near the Darpan cross roads.
The civic body has given them five sets of locks for four wheelers for cases when cars are not parked properly.
Yogesh Maitrak, Director, Urban Community Development, AMC, said that they will arrange for identity cards for these women.
However, this might take time, as model code of conduct has been implemented across the state for the upcoming Assembly election.
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