Mangaluru: Soon haphazard parking along the roads in the city will become a rare sight as the roads in the city will become “no parking” zones unless specifically earmarked either by the Mangaluru City Corporation or the Traffic Police as “parking zone”.

There is bad news for haphazard vehicle parkers. Soon, towing vehicles will be deployed, one each for the four traffic police stations to tow away unauthorisedly parked vehicles and vehicles parked at non-specified zones. Later the errant owner of the vehicle will have to pay a fine to get the vehicle released at Rs 1,100 for four wheelers and Rs 750 for two wheelers.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) Uma Prashanth disclosed this at an interaction with reporters during the Police Commissioner’s weekly phone-in programme and said that no amount of widening of roads had helped solve traffic chaos. This was primarily because the widened portion of roads was being used to park vehicles now.

Speaking on the procurement of the required towing vehicle, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M. Manjunatha Shetty said that tenders would soon be floated to hire towing vehicles. Notification specifying the fine amount has already been issued, he said. He hoped that the move would deter haphazard parking of vehicles on roads that affects smooth vehicular movement.

During the phone-in programme, a caller from Malemar urged the police to arrange traffic divider for the newly formed ad hoc service road from Malemar Junction to Kottara Chowki on NH 66 that facilitates vehicles to move against traffic.

A woman from Bondel complained that the conductor of a particular shuttle bus operating between State Bank and Kateel was highly abusive when passengers demanded ticket. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Hanumantharaya responded to her complaint and assured her of strict action and then directed the concerned police inspector to take the particular conductor to task.

Mr. Shetty told reporters that the bus shelter at Mangaladevi Junction would be shifted about 100 m further so that buses parked there did not obstruct vehicular movement. Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mission has taken the initiative to shift the bus shelter as the road ahead is wide and can accommodate city buses, informed Dakshina Kannada Bus Owners Association president Dilraj Alva.