Illegal parking is rampant at Gariahat……Debobrata Shome
Kolkata: Special raids are being carried out by Kolkata Traffic Police across RB Avenue and Amir Ali Avenue around Gariahat to ensure there is no extortion in the name of parking. Illegal parking too is being removed from RB Avenue as part of this drive.
The southeast traffic guard alone receives 10-15 cases each day related to traffic on Dial 100 during the run-up to the festival season, according to sources in Lalbazar. The special drives, being conducted by at least 15 officers through the day, are leading to 30-40 cases of illegal parking daily. However, there is always a tendency for breaking the law as parking space in the entire area is limited – there are around 90-odd slots below the flyover on both sides and another 180-odd on the main roads. Motorists and pandal revellers have repeatedly complained about being forced to walk anywhere between 1 and 2 km from the official parking to the main pandals. At least seven puja pandals have been identified where police are expecting at least a 50% jump in the number of revellers, according to Lalbazar.
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Hence, these motorists too are not being spared,” said an officer. Inputs have been sought from KMC too,” said an officer. Hence, we need to be ready,” said a DCP. “On Wednesday, we instructed all traffic guards to send us a list of alternative parking spots, which we will vet by the end of this month,” said a senior cop at Lalbazar.
others complain of parking extortion or rash driving issues at the time of parking While some speak of illegal parking blocking entry into their residences. “So far, parking extortion complaints have been nominal and little material evidence but we are not taking chances. Illegal parking invites parking extortion. Hence, we want to control illegal parking to curb extortion. We have a zero-tolerance policy on RB Avenue, especially between Triangular Park and Bijan Setu approach. There are instances when cars await to just let another parked car to move out. But this is akin to illegal parking. Meanwhile, with several Durga Puja organisers approaching cops to arrange additional parking space, traffic police have been asked to identify the parking zones well in advance to organisers and get their feedback on additional slots that might be available locally. These are located in central and south Kolkata. “We are seeing if we can use the smaller roads and bylanes. However, the local residents will not be inconvenienced. “The challenge lies in finding space for both vehicular and pedestrian flow, as well as parking, as many of the new attractions are sandwiched between popular ones. Among them are newer ones at Park Street, a complete new entry during pujas, and Chetla-Alipore, which also already have a large number of established pujas. The other big draws have been identified at Kidderpore, Behala, and Santoshpur — all of which already have major pandals in the vicinity. All traffic guards have been asked to prepare their traffic circulation reports regarding the newbies by the end of next week. Cops acknowledged that parking near pandals still remains a serious issue. Download the TOI App.