10 March, 2010 - Life in the capital city did not turn out as rosy as Echu Kumari dreamed when she left her home in Samtse a few years ago in search of a better life in Thimphu.

For the last two years, Echu Kumari, 19, has been collecting parking fees at the busy Swiss Bakery parking lot for 12 straight hours, between 9 am and 9 pm.

“Being a kidney and stomach patient, I can’t do heavy work, which is why I took this job,” said Echu Kumari.

Come rain or sun, or worse still, the frosty bite of the winter wind, Echu sits on the lawn outside the bakery with her barely year-old-child and keeps her eyes peeled for cars that enter or leave the parking lot.

She rushes, with her infant wrapped around her bosom and down her neck, towards a car the moment its driver hops in.  But she cannot always catch every vehicle and, sometimes, delinquent drivers refuse to pay her parking fees, and others zoom off while she collects fees from other drivers.  

  Her only worry at the parking lot is the possible deduction from her monthly salary of Nu 4,000 should she earn less than Nu 1,800 a day.

A bigger problem awaits her on reaching home as she ponders how best to manage her measly income, from which Nu 2,500 goes into paying her house rent, while the rest has to be planned for groceries and other necessities to last for a month.

She said her husband, who also collects parking fees, refused to contribute any from his earnings. “Sometimes I struggle trying to pay the house rent,” she said. “I have to forgo some of our basic grocery needs.”

Like Echu Kumari, Dechen Wangdi is also experiencing the bitter realisation of a dream turned sour. A class six drop-out, Dechen Wangdi said he left school because, ever since he joined school, his family had to incur many little expenses related to his schooling.  “I was becoming more of a burden to my family,” he said.

With a little education, he decided to come to Thimphu to try his luck at various jobs and make some quick money.

Turned down by numerous employers at different offices, he eventually realised that the only job matching his level of education was that of a parking fee collector.

For 25-year old Sonam Lhamo, enduring bawdy remarks from car drivers and their leering eyes on her, was what she loathed the most about the job. “Especially at night, they try to woo me into giving into their sexual demands,” she said.

Besides, Sonam Lhamu said she felt totally drained, running after every vehicle along one of the busiest stretches above the banks, constantly worried if she can collect Nu 45,000 a month to earn her monthly salary of Nu 9,580.

But, for a few students, the job is an opportunity to scratch up some income to meet school expenses.

A Babesa school student Dorji, 17, said he part-timed as a parking fee collector, especially during winter holidays and other short breaks. “I earn a comfortable sum by the end of the break to meet school expenses,” Dorji said.  His friend, Dhan Badhur saves whatever remains of his salary to pursue his dream.

“My dream is to become a businessman after having saved enough from my salary,” Dhan Badhur said. “A small business to afford me a comfortable house and a posh car to drive around in.”

The manager of the business, Phurba, said around 45 students worked as part timers against 39 other odd collectors.

Phurba said that, while the basic salary was set at Nu 4000 a month, its increase or decrease depended on parking fee collectors’ monthly contributions.

Parking fee collectors cover the stretch between taxi parking area next to Bhutan Oil Distributors fuel station and Chubachu traffic and the stretch between Jojo’s building above Changlimithang stadium till UNDP office.