Two-wheelers parked outside gate No. 2 at Cuttack railway station. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 6: Inconsiderate parking of vehicles just outside the entrance of Cuttack railway station is causing a lot of inconvenience to passengers. They are finding it hard to enter the railway station.

The situation is worst near gate No. 2 of the station where the booking counters and enquiry desk are located.

“How can the authorities allow people to park their vehicles, especially two-wheelers, at the entrance of the railway station?” said Saurabh Jha, a passenger.

Jha, who is hails from Bihar, works at a private firm in Bhubaneswar and passes through Cuttack station at least twice a month for official work.

Several others also voiced their complaints.

“People park their vehicles outside the entrance just to save money without realising that it creates unnecessary problems for those who want to pick up their friends or relatives from the station,” said Akash Choudhry, another passenger.

Choudhry said Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police authorities should initiate measures to streamline the parking process.

There are three dedicated parking lots for two-wheelers, apart from four-wheeler, taxi and autorickshaw stands, at both gate of the railway station. Yet, many people park their vehicles, especially motorcycles and bicycles, near the entrance of the station.

“Since there is no free parking facility, we are forced to park vehicles near the entrance. It is not possible to pay Rs 3 as parking fee whenever we visit the station to book tickets or pick up someone,” said Seikh Imran, a local resident.

RPF officials said there has been a rise in the number of vehicle thefts from the railway station because of parking in no-parking zones. More than 15 motorcycles are stolen from the area every year.

“We have installed no-parking boards and are creating awareness among people to use specified parking lots to park their vehicles,” said RPF inspector in-charge A. Dash.

Do you think fixing clamps to the wheels of illegally parked vehicles may solve the problem? Tell ttorissa@abp.in