VIJAYAWADA: It’s been a year since the Consumer Forum Court passed a judgement asking all shopping malls and multiplexes in the city not to collect parking fees from cinema-goers, and warned of severe punishment for those found collecting the same. However, there seems to be no relief for the public as a majority of the malls have failed to implement the order.
Out of the five shopping malls in the city, three malls were found to be collecting a minimum parking fee of `20 from two-wheelers and `40 from four-wheelers, violating the orders of the consumer court. The same is the situation at all single-screen theatres where the common people are forced to pay parking fees ranging from `10 to `40.
While LEPL Icon near Maris Stella college and Trendset mall in Benz Circle have started offering free parking to its visitors, remaining malls such as PVP Square in Labbipet, PVR Ripples in Labbipet and Power-One in Autonagar, are unabatedly collecting parking fees from their visitors. On February 22, 2019, the consumer court judge R Madhava Rao pronounced the judgment of waiving parking fees while hearing a petition filed by one consumer N Shyam Sundar on the unabated unfair trade practice at shopping malls and multiplex theaters in Vijayawada. The judge further imposed a penalty amount of `5 lakhs on the Consumer Forum Society and `5,000 to the complainant.
The judge also instructed the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) commissioner and district joint collector to take action against the management, which failed to waive off the parking fee. “Though collecting parking fees is illegal, theatre managements are collecting the same from us keeping the orders aside. Both district officials and corporation officials should take action against the errant managements,” said cinema-goer V Srinivas. When contacted municipal corporation officials said the VMC did not have provisions to enforce the rule since the malls were private places. “As a corporation, we have nothing to do with private establishments. District administration should pass an order to all shopping mall managements making free parking mandatory,” a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.