ROURKELA: Passengers and visitors at Rourkela railway station are finding it tough to park their vehicles after the parking contractor prematurely exited his contract after only 37 days.
In absence of a contractor, the South Eastern Railway (SER) has temporarily taken over the management of the parking facility. The recurring disruption has been attributed to the SER’s policy, which contractors claim, imposes irrational fees, steep penalties for pick-up and drop-off services, and fails to address encroachments on parking lots.
Sources said the contractor, N&F, was awarded a three-year contract from June 29. However, it surrendered the contract in the first week of August after just 37 days of operation. Earlier, another contractor, who was awarded the contract from July 2025 to June 30 2028, withdrew after operating the facility for only eight months.
N&F representative Md Rizwan said the firm incurred heavy losses. “We were required to pay SER Rs 33,000 per day, but our daily revenue was only around Rs 13,000, resulting in a loss of nearly Rs 20,000 every day,” he said. Rizwan also alleged that SER failed to remove encroachments from the parking areas and did not provide adequate security, leading to frequent confrontations.
The repeated exit of contractors has prompted demands for a comprehensive review of SER’s parking policy. UDBHAVA, a forum working for integrated development and public awareness, has shot off a letter to the Chakradharpur divisional railway manager, urging corrective measures.
General secretary of the forum Ved Prakash Tiwari said the premature termination of two long-term contracts exposed the systemic issues that require immediate attention. He urged the SER to abolish the hefty penalty imposed on vehicles used for pick-up and drop-off, rationalise parking fees, and revise its policy in line with the railway board’s 2015 parking policy while taking local conditions and public convenience into account.
Commercial inspector of SER, Rourkela Debendra Pradhan confirmed that SER has temporarily taken over the parking facility after the agency exited the contract. However, he denied to comment on the concerns raised by the contractor.