Visitors pay more for parking, food at heritage fest : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Visitors pay more for parking, food at heritage fest

PATIALA:Thousands of city residents are being looted under the garb of the “heritage festival”, the much-awaited fair, which commenced on here Tuesday.

Visitors pay more for parking, food at heritage fest

Classical singer Wasifuddin Dagar performs during the Patiala Heritage Festival at Qila Mubarak



Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 21

Thousands of city residents are being looted under the garb of the “heritage festival”, the much-awaited fair, which commenced on here Tuesday. 

Residents are being overcharged arbitrarily for parking by contractors, deployed by municipal councillors, and for food items sold at the fair. 

Notably, visitors are being fleeced at the behest of local leaders, who are hand in glove with the district administration. The price of food items being sold at the mela is three times higher than the normal price in markets. 

Though the entry ticket for the fair is meager Rs 10, but a simple tea costs Rs 30 and mineral water Rs 50. There is no quality check by the Health Department on the eatables sold at the fair. 

“We come to the fair as we have an emotional attachment with the cultural ambiance over here, but it is unfortunate that these people are exploiting our emotions,” said Himani Singh, a visitor.

“We can’t take samples of the food items at the mela because stall owners don’t have a permanent address, but we will collect samples if anyone complains,” said Puneet Sharma, District Food Safety Officer.  

Pay Rs 30 for car, Rs 20 for two-wheeler parking 

Contractors, including the government approved, are arbitrarily charging parking fees from thousands of city residents, who are visiting heritage and crafts mela. 

Besides, a handful of parking stands marked by the district administration, many private stands too have come up on empty plots along all the stretches leading to the Sheesh Mahal.

On Friday, The Tribune found employees of a parking contractor charging Rs 30 for every car parking and Rs 20 for two-wheeler parking at the government approved stand. Any argument with employees of the contractor bore no fruits as they refused to listen. 

Owners of two-wheelers and cars are being charged double the mandated rates. The contractor, who got the parking contract through bidding, is overcharging. He is supposed to charge only Rs 20 for four-wheelers and Rs 10 for two-wheelers, which are the recently revised parking rates.

Instead of assuring action, Shukat Ahmed, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said, “The administration has approved only one contractor for parking of vehicles. We can’t stop people for using empty lots for parking. But I will make sure that the contractor approved by the administration does not overcharge.” 

Inadequate fire-fighting arrangements 

Loosely hanging overhead power cables at many spots are posing a serious threat to visitors at the heritage fest and crafts mela. At many places, even wire joints are lying uncovered and can cause an untoward incident on a rainy day. 

In fact, on Wednesday, sparks flew from uncovered electric wires at a site in the fair. Visitors feel that these are an open invitation to fatal mishap. 

Meanwhile, officials of the Fire Department said eight extinguishers were deployed at the fair. “Out of the eight, three have been given to owners of food stalls, three are kept at the main office while two are with us,” fire officials added.

Going down memory lane with Heritage Walk

City dwellers along with hundreds of schoolchildren relived, rediscovered and explored the rich historical past of Patiala during the heritage walk today. 

The walk, which was open for all city residents, began at 10 am from Shahi Samadhan and concluded at Quila Mubarak. Hundreds of specially-abled children of the Blind and Deaf School participated in the walk. 

The walk was organised in collaboration with the Patiala Foundation, an NGO working on the heritage of the city.

Top News

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

The bench refuses to comment on merits of the issue, saying ...

US makes another remark on Kejriwal's arrest, reacts to freezing of Congress bank accounts

US makes another remark on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, reacts to freezing of Congress bank accounts

We encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes, s...

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

A multi-cornered contest is always advantageous for BJP; it ...


Cities

View All