(Top) Cars parked on a road and (above) police tow away vehicles for parking illegally in Saheed Nagar area. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 15: Police have started a drive against illegal parking in Saheed Nagar area. In the last two days, the cops have fined 17 people while towing away 15 four-wheelers for parking rules’ violation.

According to traffic police sources, the officers had been receiving complaints about people parking their vehicles on road causing traffic jam. In the last two days, markets witnessed heavy rush because of Raja and the traffic situation went out of control.

“Some people complained about parking on roads. We started the drive on Monday imposing fines on nine owners of four-wheelers. Each owner paid Rs 500 as per the Orissa Urban Police Act. Five cars were also towed away from the market area. Similarly on Tuesday, six cars were towed away and 12 fined on the spot,” said a senior traffic police officer, adding that some vehicles were also fined at Janapath in Kharvela Nagar area.

He said when the police were conducting such drives in the market area, people were seen hurriedly taking away their vehicles to avoid being penalised.

The cops said illegally parked vehicles not only belonged to people who had come to shop but also to some traders in the area.

Amit Gupta, a computer accessories shop owner on the road connecting Maharshi college to National Highway, said the roads inside Saheed Nagar area had been broadened in the past three years. “Despite this, people park their vehicles on the road creating problem for others. Nobody is ready to listen to you. Police action is a welcome step,” said Gupta.

However, Rupesh Sahu, another trader, did not like the police move. He said his shop was on the first floor of a three-storied building. “At times, the space in front of building gets choked and I am bound to park on the road. However, I am careful enough not to cause traffic congestion here. But consumers often park their cars on the road creating problem for other vehicles passing through the road,” said Sahu.

However, police said these traders did not have parking lots and customers were forced to park their vehicles on road. “We even found some parked vehicles loading and unloading stuff on road. These belong to traders. We have warned them not to park cars on the road and allow customers to do the same. Whenever this will come to our notice, we will fine them,” said the police officer.

The police officer, in charge of the drive, said these traders had been doing business in residential areas. They should ask for parking lots from municipal authorities or park their vehicles elsewhere to prevent traffic jam in the area.