Kankaria hall booking rate

Kankaria hall booking rate zooms from Rs 6k to Rs 25k

 AHMEDABAD: There are only a few options for the poor and the middle-income groups when it comes to hiring community halls for social functions like marriage and community prayer meeting in the city. Among them was the picnic hall at Kankaria lake which, till now, was available along with an open plot for Rs 6,000. On Friday, the standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation ( AMC) raised the fee to Rs 25,000 for hiring both - the hall and the plot.

"The new rate for the hall is Rs 10,000 as it is air-conditioned. If the family wants to hire both the hall and the plot, the new rate will be Rs 20,000. The rule also wants a Rs 25,000 deposit," says standing committee chairman Bhupendra Patel.

"If we start charging fee for the air-conditioners separately, the cost will be higher. In this package, the poor and the middle-income groups can enjoy the good air-conditioned hall during summers," he added.

However, the opposition Congress has claimed that the new rates are anti-poor, "How many chawls in the city have air-conditioners that they would want an air-conditioned setting during receptions and marriages. Families should have a choice for an air-conditioned hall. Let the basic rate prevail. With Rs 12,000 saving, the poor family can buy more food to feed the guests," said opposition leader Badruddin Sheikh. The opposition on Friday had gate crashed into standing committee chairman's office to protest against the steep hike in the picnic hall rates.