Motorcycles parked on Rourkela Main Road. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Rourkela, Sept. 17: The police here have decided to capture on camera illegally parked vehicles to overcome the lack of towing vehicles.

The town’s top traffic cop Ramesh Chandra Singh said the “click & fine” plan would be a way to counter the problem of towing illegally parked vehicles.

“We will photograph the vehicles parked on the roads and fine them as per rule. If these vehicles are found parked again on roads, we will increase the fine amount or take stricter actions against the owners,” said Singh.

On most occasions, lack of towing vehicles hinder cops from taking action illegal parking.

A senior traffic police official said they had been regularly conducting drives against illegal roadside parking of vehicles.

“We have been collecting fines from the errant drivers. However, the problem still persists,” he said.

The situation becomes worse during festive seasons as many people go shopping in the town keeping their vehicles on roadsides. This further reduces space for moving vehicles to pass on.

“Vehicles are seen parked on roads at almost every place in the town. This reduces the passage for vehicles and causes severe traffic congestion,” said Rupak Misha, a resident of Udit Nagar.

Residents of the town, however, alleged that despite their complaints to the police about the roadside parking and consequent traffic chaos, the officials did not take any substantial step to stop this practice.

A senior traffic cop said on the condition of anonymity that many drivers were forced to illegally park vehicles as the town lacked designated parking lots.