Mumbai: Residents rue rise of the parking touts in chaotic Colaba

Henry Road in Colaba (right) The parking tout who was caught

There was high drama yesterday on Colaba's Henry Road. A youth fleecing people by helping them park their vehicles on the heavily crowded Colaba stretch for anything between Rs 100 and Rs 200 was caught red-handed by beat officer Bhagat Singh Soni.

Touting skills
Resident Pervez Cooper said, "I was witness to the beat officer catching this man for helping people find parking spots in the area, and then, demanding money for the same. In fact, on May 30, I had caught him taking money from some tourists on the junction of Merewether Road. He had given them a parking spot there. Tourists routinely get fleeced because they have no clue that these people are not authorised to charge for this."

Also read - Crawford Market Extortion: 4 parking lot managers are also arrested

While flouting rules is one aspect, the Clean Colaba group, comprising residents, said altercations in the area were taking a dangerous turn. "After I caught him last week taking R200 from some tourists, I clicked his picture from my mobile phone. When he realised he would be caught, he started running towards the end of Merewether Road. I was in pursuit but knew I could not keep up. He then picked up a stone and hurled it at me. Luckily, it missed, but if it had hit me, I would have been seriously injured," Cooper added.

Residents said they suspect a gang of people operating in the area. The civic body's pay-and-park facility is not applicable in some lanes, especially Allana Marg, Henry Road and Merewether Road.

Not the first
The Colaba incident is just one more in a pattern being seen across the city - unauthorised personnel haranguing citizens desperate for parking, bargaining between motorists and the touts, and the actual takeover of parking lots by 'parking mafia' that charges ad hoc amounts to people. There are also plenty of 'fake' personnel, purporting to be from the BMC, distributing forged receipts for parking. The fraudsters at times claim to be from some official agency; so, it is difficult for people to verify where they are actually from.

Also read: DCP catches South Mumbai's parking touts red-handed

BMC chief Ajoy Mehta said, "Do not succumb to these tactics. If you are being arm-twisted, report the matter to the BMC or the police."

Senior inspector of Colaba police station Vijay Dhopaokar said, "Colaba sees heavy tourist traffic; sometimes, even beggars double up as parking touts. People should not pay, and instead, call the police."