The Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) has withdrawn the hike in the vehicle parking fee it had introduced at the vehicle parking lots at the new bus terminal of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Thiruvalla following public protests, according to Thomas Cherian, KTDFC project Manager.
The steep hike in the vehicle parking fee at the bus terminal from June 1 had invited widespread public protests in Thiruvalla.
The Water Resources Minister, Mathew T. Thomas, had taken up the issue with the Transport Minister, A.K. Saseendran.
Mr Thomas conveyed his strong protest against the parking fee hike by the KTDFC on a par with that of the KSRTC bus terminal in Thiruvananthapuram, without even consulting the local MLA or the government.
The decision to withdraw the parking fee hike was taken at a meeting held between the Transport Minister and the KTDFC managing director in the presence of the Water Resources Minister in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
The withdrawal of the parking fee hike came into force from Friday, Mr Cherian said.
Contractor not informed?
Meanwhile, the contractor, Subhash, said that he was yet to receive any formal communication from the KTDFC on the matter so far.
However, Mr Subhash said he had been collecting the parking fee at the previous rates only on the request of the local MLA and the KTDFC project manager.
