Rs 1000 fine on parking! What about police vehicles?

Most police stations in the city face severe parking issues

Augustin Kurian

No matter how colourful and unperturbed the aerial map of the city may look, on the surface it is chaotic with less or no room for parking. With the revised fine as per the GO 108, parking in no parking areas will fright the commuters with a fine of Rs 1000. On the contrary, most prominent hubs in the city do not have parking areas and among these prominent hubs are a few major police stations. The long list of police station with no space for parking include Narayanguda, Ramgopalpet, Sultan Bazaar, Chadarghat, Charminar, S R Nagar, James Street, Karkhana and abundant more which might toll up to nearly 50% of the total number of police stations in the city.

Most of these aforesaid police stations do not have a designated parking place, and have been accommodating the vehicles of police; be it Rakshak vans, inspector mobiles, police jeeps, two wheelers of police personnel and the vehicles of the complainants alongside the main roads. “If these vehicles were parked in any other part of the city, without a doubt the vehicles would have been towed. The vehicle stays fine only because it is parked opposite to a police station. The ironical part is that even the seized vehicles at Kharkhana Police Station are left in a dilapidated state on the main roads with a conviction that no one will move or tow the vehicle. Apparently most of the vendors and café owners hardly have any space to commute on these roads” shared Mohd Shakir, a vendor at Kharkhana.

Last year, in June, an intermediate student died and his classmate sustained injuries when a home guard carelessly opened the door of a parked Rakshak vehicle from inside which led to the students' vehicle crashing on to the police vehicle. The two boys were knocked down and the pillion-rider was fatally run over by an RTC bus coming from behind. The incident took place immediately outside Narayanaguda Police Station, on the very narrow stretch of the main road. All because, there was no parking space for the Rakshak (life saver) van, the plight is nothing different even today.

When asked Amit Garg, Addl Commissioner (traffic) over the pertaining issue, he said, “I understand there is an issue, which both traffic department and the law and order department are trying to address. We are doing our best not to interrupt the traffic flow in these areas.”

Anjani Kumar, Addl Commissioner (law and order) added, “As an action against this ongoing peril we have asked GHMC and the authorities to allot us lands in the nearby areas of police station for parking facilities. Very often, due to road widening the police stations lose their parking places. The proposals have been sent and are under discussion. There will be action soon.”