Punjab: Petition to reduce parking charges in government hospitals

Punjab: Contractors of government hospitals in the city are reportedly charging exorbitant parking fees for vehicles, which is even higher than the outpatient department (OPD) registration fee. Patients have to pay Rs 20 to park their vehicles, while the OPD registration fee is just Rs 10. This disparity has raised concerns among patients, who feel that the parking fee is too high for them. “The ideal parking fee for bicycles and motorcycles should be Rs 2 and Rs 5 respectively,” said Joginder Singh, a patient. It is absurd that visitors have to pay more money to park their vehicles than what the specialist doctor advises. He said it is a clear case of looting patients who are already burdened with medical expenses. Patients also complain that private contractors, who rent parking spaces from hospitals, run the parking slots at their own will. Ram Kumar, a visitor to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, said, “Ideally, since a patient is paying the hospital, he should be allowed to park his vehicle for free.”

He added that a nominal fee may be charged for maintenance or security, but the facility should be user-oriented and not profit-oriented. Interestingly, even after charging parking fees from visitors, the parking contractors take no responsibility for the safety of the vehicles. The parking slips issued to the public state that the contractor is not responsible for removable items like headlights and in case of theft, only one-fourth of the vehicle’s price will be paid after six months. Another resident, Harbhajan Singh, said, “If parking attendants are not responsible for the safety of vehicles in hospitals, how are they entitled to charge? This is a clear case of exploitation and the hospital authorities must take immediate action.” A civil hospital official claimed that the parking spaces were auctioned to private contractors as per rules and unless there is a complaint from a visitor, the hospital has nothing to do with it. Patients, however, argue that the hospital authorities should take responsibility to ensure that patients are not duped by private contractors.