Parking ban has no effect

Belagavi: The city police commissioner’s office had issued a public notification last week banning parking of four-wheelers on 21 important roads in the city. However, even a week after the notification, there has been no change on the ground.
The notification says, four-wheeler parking is prohibited on major roads including from Channamma Circle to Kolhapur Circle, Kolhapur Circle to Sangolli Rayanna Circle, Ashok Circle to Gandhi Nagar, Ramdev Hotel to Dharmanath Bhavan, Channamma Circle to Pavan Hotel, Bogarves to Ramlingkhind Galli among others.
However, when this newspaper did a reality check, it was found that cars are being parked on every road where the parking ban was announced. When asked, Gourish Landage, a car driver said, “Parking of four-wheelers on the roadside creates traffic congestion and banning it is a good decision. But the department should also provide alternative options, without which this initiative won’t work.”
City police commissioner BN Lokesh Kumar said addressing the parking issue was not the joB of the police but the Belagavi City Corporation. He added that the public notification issued last week was an old one which he re-issued.
“We have started taking action gradually along with creating awareness. The fine for wrong parking has been increased to Rs 1,000. If the vehicle is towed, then it costs an additional Rs 750. We have started working on it despite lot of pressure from car owners,” a police officer said.