The Mysuru City Traffic Police have taken the ‘wheel lock’ route to tackle wrongful parking, especially in the city centres.
Parking in a No Parking area can also attract heftier penalties if the vehicle is found parked for long duration even after one of its wheels is found with the wheel lock.
After the withdrawal of ‘Tiger’ services, the police came with the idea of wheel lock, which was earlier used only for four-wheelers.
Sticker
The police fix a sticker on the vehicle with the phone number of the respective police station. Owners need to call the number and get the vehicle released after paying the penalty.
The wrongfully parked vehicle will be towed to the respective police station in case the owner does not show up.
The owner has to cough up more, which includes the cost incurred on towing the vehicle which will be around ₹750.
A penalty of ₹100 is imposed on the vehicle owner if he/she pays the amount on the spot.
Public criticism
The traffic police withdrew the operation of ‘Tigers’ (towing vehicles) in March this year in the wake of public criticism. The ‘Tigers’ operation was described by locals as a “nuisance” and “inconvenience” to the public as the vehicles, hired from private operators by the police, used to take away vehicles without leaving any information for owners.
The police used to confiscate vehicles parked in no-parking areas and those parked in a haphazard manner.
Also, many had complained that the Tigers would also not give the vehicle owners an opportunity to explain their case, despite the fact that the city is faced with a severe scarcity of authorised parking spaces. The alternative choice was wheel lock.
