Bhubaneswar: As part of an initiative to include the transgender segment of the people in the mainstream, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has assigned an NGO for collection of parking fees. The NGO is run by transgenders only. The BMC feels that this initiative will help the transgenders lead a normal life.
In the presence of officials, BMC commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary assigned NGO TG Swikruti to collect fees at two main parking lots in the city.
The first parking lot covers the area between Raj Mahal Square and Master Canteen Square. There are four parking lots in between the two junctions. The first one is from Khadim’s showroom to Sreeleather’s showroom. The second one is from Royal Midtown hotel to Arya Palace hotel, the third one is from Ashok Market to City Residency Hotel while the fourth is spread from the left side of Royal Midtown hotel to Narayan Ayurved Bhawan showroom front.
The second parking lot covers areas from Master Canteen to Shriya Square. The parking zones include Kharvel Nagar (off-street) opposite Hotel Swosti, Kharvel Nagar parking zone (off-street) in front of Epari Sadashiv Jewellers, Kharvel Nagar parking zone (off-street) from Narula General Stores front to PC Chand Jewellers front, Kharvel Nagar parking zone (off-street) in front of at Godabarisha Sahitya Sansad, and Kharvel Nagar parking zone (on-street) in front of Hotel Keshari.
Members of TG Swikruti have already started collecting fees from two-wheelers and four-wheelers at all the above mentioned parking lots. They were seen in uniforms with handbags.
BMC Deputy Commissioner Shrimanta Mishra said Thursday that the duty has been assigned on an experimental basis for two months
The monthly fee for the first parking lot has been earmarked at Rs 2.23 lakh while for the second one it is Rs 1.46 lakh. The NGO has submitted a security deposit of Rs 7,380 to get the charge of the two parking lots.
PNN
