Visitors to GND Hospital forced to pay parking fee

There has been no respite from paying parking fee for the patients and attendants at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital even as the authorities have cancelled the parking contract and put up a notice that the visitors are not required to pay for parking their two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

With the orders of the hospital authorities coming into force, a few men usually seen working as parking attendants were seen turning visitors away, claiming that the parking has been closed. A visitor complained, “Anyone who has to come to the hospital has to park his vehicle. One cannot park vehicles on the road outside the hospital but these men are turning people away.”

The hospital is visited by thousands of people including patients and their attendants. In view of the problems faced by the visitors, they demanded that the system for parking of vehicles be streamlined at the earliest as theft of two-wheelers from the hospital premises is also reported frequently.

Sources at the hospital stated that the last auction for the parking was conducted before the Covid pandemic. During the pandemic, the hospital also reduced the contract fee to facilitate the contractor. However, in the last three years after Covid, the contractor continued to pay the revised contract fee only.

The officials stated that the parking contract generates a substantial revenue which is used for the benefit of the hospital and patients. The officials added that tendering process for the parking of vehicles would be held soon and the contract would be given as per rules and regulations of the government.