The City police have launched a crackdown on illegal parking and misuse of carriageways, bus bays, and footpaths on key road stretches to ensure hassle-free movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
The traffic wing has stepped in to curb the illegal parking and misuse of bus bays at the Kowdiar-Manmohan Bungalow six-lane corrridor of the 1.2-km Kowdiar-Vellayambalam road, much to the relief of residents, road users, and Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL), the concessionaire of City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) that maintains the road.
Illegal parking
At the initiative of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, and Traffic, Arul R.B. Krishna, the left side of the road from the second gate of Raj Bhavan to Kowdiar Junction has been declared out of bounds for parking.
The traffic police have put up traffic cones and boards on the stretch and two bus bays to warn the motorists.
The police stepped in after the vehicles bringing in tourists to the museum and the zoo were being parked haphazardly on both sides of the Kowdiar-Manmohan Bungalow corridor, hampering smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
The sharp curve near Manmohan Bungalow and the bus bay opposite Women’s Club next to Kowdiar House, the official residence of former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, too are not spared.
Hawkers and taxis
Under the cover of contract carriages, hawkers have also encroached upon pavements and bus bays, littering the footpath and carriageway. Car and motorcycle dealers and some companies use the corridor to display their products.
Even taxi operators were found using the stretch for parking the vehicles for long hours. S. Anil Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, North, said the traffic police were keeping vigil on the stretch to prevent misuse of the carriageway and prevent accidents.
“We are looking into other stretches where the roads are being used for illegal parking,” Mr. Anil Kumar added.
