BENGALURU: The city traffic police continue to ignore towing guidelines and vehicles violating parking norms are towed away abruptly without any warning to the owners.
Nanjundaswamy, a motorist, whose vehicle was towed from the S.P. Road last month said, “I was right there buying some equipment and they towed my bike away. I had to then rush to Town Hall. No picture or announcement on the loud speaker was made.”
According to Bengaluru City Traffic Police (BTP), the standard operating procedure for towing a vehicle requires the police to click a picture of the wrongly parked vehicle, announce the vehicle number and tow if the person doesn't turn up.
“They come, pick the bike or car and go without alerting us even if we are present nearby,” said Naveen, another citizen whose car was towed.
A total number of 2,47,259 towing cases were filed and a sum of around Rs 19.32 crore was collected as towing fine in the year 2017 till November, according to the data available on BTP's website. There has been an increase of 1,67,919 towing cases compared with previous year.
Additional Commissioner (Traffic) R. Hithendra said, “What can we do if vehicle owners are not there when the announcement is made. The guidelines are strictly followed while towing and it is also been put up on YouTube for everyone to know.”
Last year in the month of September, BTP issued a circular increasing the fine from Rs 300 to Rs 650 for towing a two-wheeler from no-parking zone, and from Rs 450 to Rs 1,000 for a four-wheeler.
ShivaKumar, DCP Traffic (West) said, “We are tracking down who is not following the towing guidelines. More than 8-10 contracts get cancelled every month due to this reason.”
There are many contractors as well who work along with the Traffic Police Department to tow vehicles in different areas like Avenue Road, Lalbagh, Malleswaram and others in the city.
“We are following the guidelines laid down by the traffic department. However some might not be doing so, I can speak only for my area,” said Ramesh, a contractor from Cubbon Park.
There is no space in the city and people are left with no option rather than parking in the no parking zones, added ShivaKumar. "For some of them to pay so huge an amount is also a problem. Until and unless they provide parking space this problem will continue," he said.
