COIMBATORE: Contractors appointed by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) to manage the parking lot in front of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) have dropped the minimum charge of Rs 5 for two hours and are collecting Rs 10 as the basic charge, drawing complaints from hospital visitors.
CMCH banned the entry of private visitors’ vehicles inside the campus in July 2024 due to space constraints, leading to severe congestion on Trichy Road.
Only vehicles of doctors and essential staff are allowed, forcing public vehicles to use external parking. To ease traffic on TrichyRoad, the CCMC opened a paid parking lot on the lake bund in front of CMCH. The paid system was relaxed briefly after police flagged parking concerns from CMCH, but the civic body restored it in 2025, citing the need for funds for maintenance.
The lot can accommodate 403 two-wheelers and 15 four-wheelers. The charges for bikes range from Rs 5 for two hours to Rs 150 for above a day. For four-wheelers, the rate is Rs 30 for two hours, with an additional Rs 15 for every hour.
With no parking space inside the hospital and roadside parking proving risky, visitors say they are forced to use the lot. Taking advantage of this, the contractor has allegedly revised the basic fee, people alleged.
According to the original rate chart, two-wheelers were to be charged Rs 5 for the first two hours. However, staff at the lot are now collecting Rs 10 even for short-term parking. Visitors say they have no option but to pay, as the CMCH frontage is the only nearby space available.
"People who come to the government hospital are often from low-income families. We are already in distress when we come here. Paying double the notified charge for just 10 minutes of parking is unfair," said R Monish Kumar, who came for ortho treatment with a family member.
On Wednesday and Saturday, TNIE visited the parking lot to and found the allegations to be true. When questioned, the staff said they will return the balance of Rs 5 once they return within two hours. However, people using the parking lot say the rule is not followed properly and the balance is not returned every time.
They accused the contractor of taking advantage of the situation, and demanded that CCMC enforce the original rate chart and display it prominently at the lot to prevent overcharging. Corporation officials said they would look into the complaint and verify if the contractor had violated the tender conditions.