People should strictly follow traffic rules – DCP Dr Patil
Mangaluru: DCP of Crime and Traffic Dr Sanjeev Patil along with the ACP of Traffic Tilakchandra visited the market road to find a solution for traffic congestion in the area here, on July 26.
The market road is always congested because of the people who park their vehicles on both sides of the road. The roads in the area are narrow without proper footpaths for the pedestrians. People park their vehicles wherever they want and go for shopping. Most of them are not bothered about other road users or the smooth flow of traffic. Most of the time, the police are being blamed for inefficiency even though the mess is caused due to failure on part of the citizens to follow traffic rules. In Mangaluru, it is very easy to break traffic rules and get away! Many vehicles are parked in no parking zones since most businesses do not have parking facilities for their customers. Citizens also share the responsibility of ensuring smooth traffic movement.
Speaking to Mangalorean.com, DCP of Crime Dr Sanjeev Patil said that the MCC should take measures in providing proper parking facilities in the market area. “People should think before parking their vehicles and not create problems for others. We are trying our best to put things in order. But at the same time, people should co-operate with us to make the traffic movement easier by following traffic rules strictly,” he said.
The traffic police had all two-wheelers parked in the tempo parking zone shifted to the two-wheeler parking area. Barricades were placed to segregate parking spots for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
Speaking to Mangalorean.com, one of the road users said, “The traffic police should regularly visit the area and penalize anyone who is found violating the rules. Sometimes it is not possible to walk through the road or the footpath since the vendors do their business on the footpath and the road is occupied by vehicles. It is very difficult for pedestrians to move in this area. On Sundays, the road is fully occupied by street vendors. They sell their goods and spread them on the road. The authorities should take action and see that rules are followed.”
When Mangalorean.com contacted Mayor Harinath about the issue, he said that Rs 1 crore has been reserved by the Council for the installation of CCTV cameras and other traffic related work. “In this regard, a meeting was also held at the DC office. The police should strictly enforce the rules and see that vehicles are parked only in designated places in the market area. Those who violate traffic rules and park in no parking zones should be fined,” added Harinath.