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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
GCC robs people of high parking costs
Chennai: Despite Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) warning TEXCO for charging exorbitant parking costs, the latter's staff continue to fleece residents—up to six times the original parking cost of 20. After TOI broke a story in April on how the Tamil Nadu ex-servicemen corporation (TEXCO) was collecting money from residents even without a formal tender or contract being in place, the GCC formalised an agreement with TEXCO. They restricted the firm's ambit to just ten locations at flat rates of 20 per hour for cars, 5 for bikes, and 60 for heavy vehicles. The GCC also ordered TEXCO to stop collecting cash and handed them POS devices with QR code facilities. Two months later, staff continue to charge up to 120 for just two hours—and in cash. According to bills accessed by TOI, one dated June 25 at a location in T Nagar stated the charge was 30 per hour. The person had parked for two hours, yet the final amount on the bill was 120. While the 30 per hour itself was illegal, the resident ended up being charged six times the approved rate. In another bill from June 9, one hour of parking was shown to cost 60, three times the prescribed charge. Clueless residents, eager to get out of congested parking spots, paid without protest. "The staff said if I pay by cash, it's 40, whereas if I pay online, it is 60. I ended up paying online. The money went to an Indian bank account linked to GCC," said one motorist. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai TEXCO was supposed to deploy manpower across 14,000 slots with a daily earning potential of 11 lakh. This meant that from the start of the contract in July until its expiry in December, expected revenue was around 19.8 crore. But in December 2024, TEXCO officially declared only 1.75 crore. "It is not known if the cash collected by staff was fully accounted for," said civic activist Swadish Bharathi. Revenue officials explained that although the account is linked to GCC, TEXCO withdraws funds to cover administration, maintenance, and manpower costs, leaving only the net surplus for the civic body. "The parking contract with TEXCO has to be abolished. I will take it up with the commissioner and also raise it in the council. These complaints cannot be recurring," said Deputy mayor Mahesh Kumar.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Demand for IPL tickets drops amid CSK's losing streak: ‘Yellove' in victory, no love in defeat?
Chennai: Seems like Chennai Super Kings' 12th man won't back the team when the going gets tough. IPL tickets for the the CSK-Punjab Kings match, which should have been sold out in the blink of an eye, were still available on match day — something as rare as seeing CSK at the bottom of the table. On Wednesday, seats in four stands H, G, F, and D upper including those priced from 3,000, had no takers for a long time. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Brokers also struggled to offload complimentary tickets, which earlier fetched up to five times their value. On Tuesday, they were chasing buyers across WhatsApp groups, Instagram, and Facebook, even offering tickets at or below face value. By Wednesday evening, prices were slashed by 50% lower-stand tickets originally priced at 4,500 were being sold at 2,750. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Highest Earning College Majors—2025 Edition Best Paying Degrees | Search Ads Learn More Undo Of the 35,000 seats, only about 18,000 go up for online sale; the rest are complimentary and typically sold in black. Swadish Bharathi, who routinely sells such tickets, said sales were bleak. "Even at half the price, no one is willing to buy them. Regulars just wanted to get rid of their tickets," he said, adding that many avoided brokers fearing fakes. "The Zomato app is secure it allows transfer only between valid accounts. QR codes are generated just before the match. So many chose to buy at MRP," he added. Fans blamed CSK's patchy form for the dip in demand. Many said the ticket sales were as rigged as ever but with the team slipping, interest crashed. "Winning or losing isn't the issue. There was no intent in the first leg. It was only after Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis joined that the batting got some spark. But it's too late now," said a CSK fan, K Abhinandnan. "Even the Dhoni craze is fading. People expect performance." Parking lots on Wednesday were empty, said A Venkatesh, who went to the stadium for the match. "This is a first for Chennai. In Gujarat, most tickets are sold online transparently at costs as low as 100 to 500, even for the stands with the best view. Here, the opaque sales system and poor on-field performance have hit demand hard," he said. Wednesday's match was CSK's penultimate home game; the last will be againt Rajasthan Royals.
