Hyderabad: With the traffic in the twin cities increasing going haywire, partly due to the ongoing Metro Rail works, illegal parking at bus stops by two and four-wheelers is adding to the woes of pedestrians and those who commute by public transport.Shortage of parking space had long been a problem, and in places where Metro works are in full swing, illegally parked vehicles are a common sight.
In places like Sanathnagar, Ameerpet, Maitrivanam, SR Nagar and other parts of the city, bus stops are providing a “perfect” spot for vehicle owners who care a hoot about civic sense and public convenience.Not only two and four-wheelers, even auto-rickshaws are seen parked in front of bus stops.
Traffic police says that in spite of several cases being booked for obstructive and haphazard parking, vehicle owners don’t mend their ways. “There are still some who park their vehicle in bus stops forcing passengers to wait under the hot sun,” said a cop.
There were 437 cases booked for parking in bus bays and Rs 68,600 collected as fine from the guilty in Hyderabad up to April 2017. In 2016, 3,450 cases were booked and Rs 4,59,800 collected as fine.
Rishikesh Shastry, a working professional from Hyderabad who often uses a bus, said, “I missed buses many a time because of vehicles parked right in bus stands. Civic sense has gone to the dogs in our city.”Even traffic cops deployed near the bus stands are unable to control illegal parking, forced to merely clicking pictures for e-challans.
“This has become a huge nuisance. I suffered twice due to this at the Mettuguda bus stop. Not only people park their vehicles at bus stops, but also stop their vehicles frequently and speak on phone. It’s so difficult to look for a bus or even stand there. Something has to be done about this,” said Ayesha Farheen, a student.
Traffic ACP, Balanagar, Shyamsunder Reddy said, “Though challans are being issued against traffic violators on a regular basis, people continue to park illegally at bus stops. From now on we will conduct regular drives near bus stops to stop such blocks.”
