Do not charge parking fees from students: University of Pune to colleges

Pune: Giving much respite to students, the University of Pune has decided to direct all the colleges not to charge parking fees from them. The decision came in the wake of recent incident wherein, the trainee nurses from B J Medical College in Sassoon Hospital were allegedly beaten up by the parking attendants over the trivial issue of parking the vehicle.
Majority of the colleges in the city despite receiving funds under quality improvement programme scheme from varsity, which is used to create physical infrastructure like parking shades, toilets, maintenance of grounds and other things, charge parking fees from the students. There were several students who too objected that their colleges have outsourced the parking contract to outside people, who sometime, harass them over parking fees which lead to the scuffle.
“After the incident of Sassoon Hopsital, we have decided to direct all the colleges to stop taking parking fees from the students,” said Dr Wasudev Gade, vice chancellor, UoP.
He said that majority of the colleges receive Rs5 lakh grant from the university to create physical infrastructure like parking shades and other things and if they are getting money from the varsity, they are not supposed to charge students. “We will soon send a circular to the colleges, who are receiving funds from the varsity, not to charge parking fees from the students and even other colleges which are not receiving the funds, they will also be asked to stop the practice,” Gade said.
He said that anyhow the colleges take admissions fees in which the expense of college infrastructure is taken from the students and hence they should not take the parking fees extra.
“Those colleges who will not comply to the circular, will be declared defaulters,” Gade warned.