Noida garment manufacturers, already reeling under many challenges at various levels, are now facing the issue of parking charges. According to the new parking policy, the Noida Authority has asked parking contractors to collect charges from factory owners whose staff members park their vehicles outside the factories. Though after strong protest, the authority has decided to ‘no parking fees’ for 1800 sq. metres area but still factory owners are asking to recall this policy completely.
Various industry bodies like Indian Industries Association (IIA) and Noida Entrepreneurs Association had meetings with the Noida Authority over the matter, but so far, no solution has come out.
To show their anger, hundreds of factory owners along with their staff, today, demonstrated to protest against this policy.
Factory owners are running a campaign on Twitter against this decision under the hasgtags, #NoParkingFeesForIndustries and #noidaparkingissue.
Agitation against Noida Authority today #NoParkingFeesForIndustries pic.twitter.com/a6srJBK1Gh
— Kulmani Gupta (@KulmaniGupta) October 4, 2018
Noida is one of the prominent hubs of apparel and home furnishing manufacturing where several factories are operational. Majority of them have outside parking for their staff members as well as visitors. Under Uttar Pradesh Government initiative ‘One district- One Product’, Noida is projected as the city of Apparel. According to official figures, in 2016-17, Uttar Pradesh exported ready made garments worth US $ 1700 million, with Noida holding a major share in it.
Rajeev Bansal, MD, Celestial Knits & Fabs, Noida, and Divisional Chairman, IIA, who led the protest told Apparel Resources, “This is totally wrong, contractors behave like the mafia and threaten factory owners. It is like extortion.”
He further added that as the industry had raised its voice strongly, he was expecting a solution to this issue.
