Sir,

Recently I was shopping in our neighbourhood and it being a Sunday afternoon, there were not many vehicles on the road. There were some shoppers in the area and many of them were shopping in the Mega Store on Hebbal Main Road and parked their two-wheelers in front of the Store which is a normal practice. There is no ‘No Parking’ sign on this side of the road but on the opposite side, which means parking in front of the store is entirely permitted and there is no blockage of the road by doing so either, as the other side is a permanent ‘No parking’ zone.

Suddenly there is commotion and all the shoppers rushed outside to safeguard their vehicles from the Police as the two-wheeler lifting squad had swooped down on the two-wheelers and some vehicles whose owners were not quick enough to move them on to the footpath were whisked away in a few seconds. There was no warning or announcement as is required, no need for this action as the road was empty and no justification as the vehicle parking was not illegal.

Actions like this by the Traffic Police poses several questions like the intent of lifting vehicles parked on the roads, the methodology of resorting to this drastic action and the impact on the general public who do not want to violate traffic rules but are punished by the rude action taken against them.

1. Why are the Police lifting vehicles which are parked rightly on the roads and why an announcement is not made before lifting them?
2. Why not demarcate areas as ‘Zero tolerance’ zones as they do in Bengaluru and then if violations are found, resort to this extreme action?
3. Why remove vehicles in very sparse traffic areas like residential areas and at times of low traffic density such as holidays and late afternoons and nights?
4. And finally, why remove vehicles which are rightly and legally parked and harass those who obey traffic rules?

Apparently the lifting of vehicles is being done nowadays as a matter of routine and not to really punish those who obstruct smooth movement of traffic. One can only surmise that the assignment is lucrative for the Police while  it is a nightmare for the motorists. The general public has no option but to nurse a fear nowadays of not finding their vehicle when they return from their shopping.

In most cases, the ‘No parking’ boards are so small or defaced that most people who are caught, do not know what is their offence. Why not mark them properly and in a visible manner and create ‘No parking’ zones only if required? (The photographs of signs attached are from the same spot and the signs are stuck with private stickers!)

I feel the Traffic Police has to change their approach for punishing the motorists lock stock and barrel and focus on those who really violate rules by over-speeding or signal jumping.

– Shivaram Nayak, Hebbal 1st Stage, 28.8.2018

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to [email protected]