Mangaluru : The police have urged citizens to take photographs of shops selling tobacco products, including beedi, cigarettes near schools and colleges and forward them to police personnel through WhatsApp.

DCP (Law and Order) Hanumantharaya said the police have taken measures to implement Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) effectively in the City Police Commissionerate jurisdiction.

He was replying to a question at the weekly phone-in programme conducted at the city police commissioner’s office on Friday. A resident complained that street vendors have encroached upon parking areas on Market Road and it is difficult to drive vehicles on the narrow stretch. Even pedestrians are finding it difficult to walk on the road. In reply, DCP Lakshmi Ganesh said that the issue will be brought to the notice of the Mangaluru City Corporation.

Hanumantharaya said the street vendors have a right to market their produce. There is a need to provide some alternative arrangements for them. The police will ensure that street vendors do not cause any hindrance to the movement of vehicles, he added.

When a resident complained about autorickshaw drivers demanding exorbitant fare at Deralakatte, the DCP directed the police to seek the cooperation of autorickshaws on installing a board listing the auto fares at autorickshaw stands.

The DCP, while responding to a complainant, said the KSRTC will be asked to introduce a bus to Ambedkar Padav.

The callers accused bus conductors of failing to issue tickets in city buses. The bus operators to Sulthan Bathery do not operate final trip at 7.30 pm.

Complaints on the parking of vehicles on footpaths, demand to install humps near schools and colleges, unscientific UGD, stray dog menace and the lack of parking facilities were also highlighted in the programme.