Jamshedpur, Sep 14: The East Singhbhum district traffic cops were seen in action on Tuesday as they towed cars and SUVs parked in ‘No Parking’ zones at various places of Sakchi, a commercial hub. The drive focussed on the busy Subarnarekha Link Road and Straight Mile Road.
The traffic cops started the drive near the district collectorate and towed away over a dozen cars and SUVs which were parked in an illegal manner on both sides of the road , resulting in traffic hassles. The half-a- Km stretch near the district collectorate was freed of illegally parked vehicles, mostly cars. The drive which began around 10 am continued for over an hour.
“We have been receiving frequent complaints that cars and SUVs are often parked in No Parking zones on that stretch of the road resulting in inconvenience for commuters. During the drive we towed the vehicles and took them to Sakchi thana where the owners went to pay the mandatory fine of Rs 1,000 and get back their vehicles, ” said RK Singh, a traffic constable.
Vehicles, whose documents were found to be in order were fined Rs 1,000 for illegal parking as per Motor Vehicle Act. ” Unfortunately, the towing-away exercise is not done regularly. Therefore, people are not afraid of flouting rules. The towing exercise should continue, ” said an employee of a private insurance company and a resident of Sakchi.
“We are concerned over the situation and want to make sure that there is no traffic congestion on the roads. We are using the police department’s crane to tow away the vehicles,” said a traffic official. He said that the vehicle owners’ excuse for violating the rule is that they park their vehicles for “just a few seconds”. But what they do not realise is that these few minutes lead to a traffic jam.
The police have earmarked zones for parking in Bistupur — on L Road near Bank of Baroda and on N Road, behind the Tilak Pustakalaya. Another official said that vehicles, be it a four-wheeler or a two-wheeler, queued up in a clutter is a common sight in the city. However with the towing of vehicles they are hopeful to teach the people civic sense.
Unauthorised parking has become a major concern for traffic police and repeated special drives have been launched to provide free movement.
