The City Police will not hesitate to book cases against owners of high-rise commercial buildings who have illegally converted parking spaces for commercial activity thereby forcing customers to park vehicles on roads and cause traffic snarls.
Interacting with reporters after the weekly phone-in programme here on Friday, City Police Commissioner T.R. Suresh said the police action was not limited against owners of marriage halls/ vehicles that were parked on busy roads. The Mangaluru City Traffic Police have, since a fortnight, been acting against such nuisance following public pressure.
Surprisingly, sanctioned plan violations with regard to parking facility have been regularised by the Mangaluru City Corporation in some cases, Mr. Suresh said. Nevertheless, the police would act against building owners who do not allow parking of vehicles in the dedicated space. He also directed officials concerned to initiate action.
On July 8, the Dakshina Kannada district police began the crackdown by booking a marriage hall owner and manager at Narikombu village on National Highway 75 for forcing guests to park vehicles on the flanks of the highway and obstructing traffic movement. Bantwal town police registered the case under Section 283 of the Indian Penal Code against for obstructing vehicular traffic on a public road and endangering public life.
Soon thereafter, the City Police too initiated similar action against marriage and convention hall owners and locked wheels of vehicles parked on busy roads.
Many grievances
Earlier during the phone-in, Commissionerate residents aired a range of grievances, ranging from haphazard parking of vehicles on public roads to city buses skipping regular trips.
A caller from Alake said vehicles move at high speeds on the recently renovated Kulur Ferry Road via Kudroli and demanded restriction on speed. Mr. Suresh asked personnel to inspect the place and take action.
A resident of Kodikal rued that four city buses from State Bank miss late evening trips while two from Kankanady miss Sunday trips to his place. A resident of Moodbidri grieved about parking of buses by an educational institution near Hotel Ballal, thereby inconveniencing residents of the area. A caller from Balmatta complained of unchecked smoking in public places, particularly near the bus shelter in the area.
Mr. Suresh promised suitable action in all cases.
Deputy Commissioners of Police Hanumantharaya (Law and Order) and Uma Prashanth (Crime and Traffic), Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Manjunatha Shetty and others were present.
Divert educational institutions’ buses
A social activist of Konaje suggested to Mangaluru City Police to divert buses of educational institutions located in and around Deralakatte plying to the city to move via Madoor-Beeri to decongest the stretch of Konaje Road between Thokkottu and Deralakatte.
Those vehicles can join National Highway 66 at Beeri Junction and move towards the city and vice versa, said Hasanabba. He also urged the police to ask National Highways Authority of India to open the viaduct below the under-construction Thokkottu flyover so that vehicles from Konaje could take a right turn towards the city instead of moving on a circuitous route.