Hyderabad: Reckless parking woes refuse to go away

Hyderabad: Reckless parking of vehicles is causing endless woes for denizens across the city. Such parking is especially witnessed near hotels, parks, restaurants, tea stalls and pan shops.

Uday Kumar, a software professional and resident of Malkajgiri, rues people are not following parking protocols. "The menace of such parking is growing in Malkajgiri near hotels, bars and tea stalls leading to traffic jams. The Safilguda road which connects the motorists from Malkajgiri to Secunderabad via AOC center is always choked because of the double-line parking in front of shops and also due to street vendors. Abhiruchi Hotel near Malkajgiri bus stop is leading to road encroachment with customers parking their vehicles haphazardly. The irony is the Malkajgiri Police Station is hardly 100 meters away from this hotel."

Md Sarwar, a social activist and a resident of Azampura, noted, "Despite giving so many complaints to the police about the issue, there is no action taken so far. Whenever a complaint is given, the next day a cop visits the site and clicks photographs of the vehicles parked illegally and walks away.

Though the police department says that they are issuing challans for wrong parking, still there is no sense prevailing amongst the persons who are parking in a reckless manner. The best way to improve the traffic conditions is that the vehicles should be towed away, and a cop should always be deputed at such sites to warn people parking in a wrong manner."

An officer from the traffic department, on condition of anonymity, said that there were many awareness programmes carried out to instil parking sense amongst the public. "Though we are issuing challans to such offenders they are still indulging in the act of reckless parking.

However, it is also the responsibility of the shop owners to ensure that their customers park in a proper manner and the person parking his or her bike should understand the consequences of wrong parking," he added.