This gang approaches individuals who park their vehicles in the area and demands a sum for monthly parking or even one-off parking
Five months ago, a WagonR belonging to Manoj Dixit, a labour contractor from Filter Pada, was set on fire
The Filter Pada area in Powai has become a nightmare for residents, as a gang is actively terrorising the locality by running an illegal parking racket, our report said.
Residents are being forced to pay parking charges outside their own homes, and those who refuse face severe consequences, including vandalism and arson. In the past two months alone, an Audi car was vandalised, and a tempo was gutted by a gang after the owners refused to pay extortion money. An autorickshaw was also burnt.
This gang approaches individuals who park their vehicles in the area and demands a sum for monthly parking or even one-off parking. They threaten violence and damage to vehicles, if refused. They have made good on their threat, as the report shows.
This also is an extreme example of parking gangs mushrooming all over the city. They may not resort to violence but they certainly threaten people and intimidate the general public. There are the scamsters who pretend to be some kind of parking authority and produce some bogus receipts. Baffled citizens do not know for sure but may believe they are some kind of authority.
Then, there are the area goons who make a gang and start controlling parking in the vicinity. They tell residents where to park, mark parking spots and collect parking ‘fees’ or payments for a specified number of hours. Everybody knows they are unauthorised but they seem to rule there. These are the local thugs running this racket, and against whom little if nothing is done. People are too scared to complain or defy.
Authorities need to swing into action to scotch all these parking rackets. Act on complaints and act without complaints too. In a space starved city, parking terror is growing and it needs to be tackled resolutely.
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