Small price to pay in malls

KOCHI: In an already crowded Kochi city, it seems that finding a place to park is the most tedious task of them all. And when you go shopping at a mall, you have to pay for parking your vehicles there.“When we go to the malls to make purchases, why are we required to pay for the parking services? We are their customers,” said Joy Mathew, a customer.But mall operators argue that the main reason why they set up pay-and-park system is mainly because they feel that if they do not, they will lose their customers. “The parking lots are meant for our customers. If we do not set up a pay- and-park facility, then it will be occupied by any Tom, Dick and Harry.”Also, mall operators in the city believe that their pay and park regulations are accepted gladly by the customers. “Whether they pay Rs 5 or 10 or sometimes even Rs 50, we believe that our customers don’t complain because at the end of the day, they are satisfied. There are also times when we provide offers and reimburse the parking fees,” said an official of Oberon Mall.Bay Pride Mall managing head said: “We provide the cheapest service to customers as far as parking fee is concerned. We brought the land that was auctioned by the GCDA and converted it into a parking space. That slot is meant for our customers and not for anyone else. That is the main reason we charge a certain amount from our customers. But we are not strict about the payment. Whenever our customers ask the shop owners at the mall for a concession, some of them give it. They also reimburse the amount. That depends on the mentality of the shop owners.”Also, security and maintenance cost is the main reason why malls set up their own pay-and-park services. “We believe that we are not breaking any of the rules by extracting a small amount.”Supporting this, Town Planning Committee chairman K J Sohan said: “Until it is a fee that is abnormally high, we believe that there is no reason for any regulation.”  According to advocate Kalishwaram Raj,  the municipal corporation can provide licences to the mall owners or private parties to charge a fee from the customers if they satisfy some of the norms in section 475 (3) of the Municipality Act.