Rs 6 lakh collected in fines within a month!

Mangaluru: Three weeks have passed since the city traffic police began its operation against vehicles parked in no-parking area through its towing vehicle and fining the errant vehicle users and in such a short period of time has collected a total fine of Rs 6,00,000.

In the backdrop of the increasing problems regarding parking in no parking areas and with the aim to prevent parking on the road sides, in no parking areas and haphazard parking, Mangaluru Traffic Police introduced the towing vehicle facility to tow away such vehicles.  This facility started its operation within the City limits from Mar 2^nd and in the last 3 weeks has collected Rs 5,99,600 in fines.

Tenders were invited for procuring 4 towing vehicles, one each for the four traffic police stations (east, west, north, south) within the Mangaluru Police Commissionerate. Currently, one towing vehicle is operating in the city on an outsourced contract.

Operation

Vehicle density in the city is increasing by the day and this is leading to problems regarding traffic management and parking. The traffic police are struggling hard to control the situation. Every time on being fined, the guilty would pay the fine but not take it seriously. Because of this the problem kept repeating itself. Hence a plan was created to buy a towing vehicle.

Any vehicle parked illegally on the road side will be towed away to the concerned police station by the towing vehicle. The vehicle owner/driver will have to pay the prescribed fine and then get the vehicle released. The police have taken this decision with the expectation that through the towing away of the vehicle, the errant vehicle user may realize the gravity of the problem.

Public be careful

Presently, vehicles parked in no parking areas in the city are being towed away by the towing vehicles and also the vehicle user is fined.

Many people in the city are unaware of the towing facility introduced in the city. Due to this reason, those parking their vehicles on the roadside for some urgent work with the aim to return back within seconds end up burning their wallets by paying hundreds of rupees in fines. In this context, at least henceforth the city dwellers need to be careful and stop parking their vehicles in no parking areas. If not, inevitably one has to pay additional fines and court unnecessary difficulties.

771 cases booked

Since Mar 2^nd to Mar 24^th, Rs 5,99,600 has been collected in fines. Altogether 771 cases have been booked of which 710 cases are regarding two-wheelers and 61 cases are against four-wheelers. Since the operation is being conducted through a outsourced contract based towing vehicle, of the total Rs 5,99,000 collected in fines, Rs 3,38,350 goes to the government while Rs 2,61,250 goes to the private contractor.

Fine amount

Vehicle Type	Amount
Heavy Vehicle	Rs 1,600
Medium Vehicle	Rs 1,350
Light Vehicle	Rs 1,100
Two Wheeler	Rs 750

No parking in control

“Towing vehicles are being used to take away illegally parked vehicles at various locations in the city. At some areas, illegal parking has reduced and may come within control,” informed Uma Prashant, DCP