Ba Market vendors cry foul over parking fee hike

Ba Market vendors have raised concerns over what they describe as a sudden increase in car parking fees, accusing the Ba Town Council of poor consultation and unfair enforcement.

Vendor Mohammed Raiyaz Khan said the monthly parking fee had increased from $21 to $70 — a rise of about 233 per cent.

“It is a 233 per cent increase without proper agreement from those affected,” Mr Khan said.

“They want to increase revenue at the vendors’ cost.

“We are stakeholders. They cannot wake up overnight and impose a 233 per cent increase. That is totally unacceptable.”

Mr Khan said that during a consultation held in September last year, vendors highlighted communication barriers and technical issues, including the lack of proper interpretation.

“Some people did not understand English. The council failed to interpret, and they failed to justify this increase because they had technical issues with the presentation,” he said.

He said vendors proposed paying $1 per day as a compromise.

“We agreed on what we could pay. The council said they would discuss it and advise us formally. That never happened.”

Mr Khan said enforcement of the new fee began without warning.

“All of a sudden, on Monday, police were at the entry gate. Vendors who did not pay were stopped from entering. It came out of the blue,” he said.

However, Ba Town Council acting chief executive officer Manjula Devi rejected claims of improper process, saying consultations were held, advertisements were placed, and ministerial approval was obtained.

“There was proper consultation, advertisement and minister’s approval,” Ms Devi said.

She said vendors were previously being charged $150 per month, and the fee was reduced to $70 after consultations.

“At the moment, the car parking fee is $2 per hour for the general public, but we are charging vendors only $2.80 a day,” Ms Devi said.

Ms Devi said a memorandum was signed by the Ba Market Vendors Association president and vendors were informed through meetings, public address announcements and direct reminders.

“They were supposed to pay from September last year, but they were not paying,” she said.
“From Monday, they were told to pay, and once they paid, they were allowed to enter the car park area.”