7 lakh slapped with e-challans for parking at 'no parking' spots

Parking at 'no parking' spots emerged as the top offence in the city for which e-challans were issued. File pic

While the first-ever survey on parking in Mumbai showed how lack of civic planning has resulted in the city's parking woes, a Right to Information (RTI) response has revealed another aspect of the same issue. The data shows that the offence which has bagged the maximum number of e-challans is parking in 'no parking' spots, with as many as 7.59 lakh motorists being booked for it between January 2017 and January 2019, and fined Rs 15.19 crore.

The 'no parking' offence is followed by jumping the signal and driving vehicles on 'no entry' roads. The data has been shared by the traffic police on the RTI application which demanded information about all offences for which e-challans have been issued in the city. Cops have said that from January 1, 2017 to January 2019, a total of 34. 55 lakh e-challans have been issued in Mumbai. Cops are issuing e-challans for 171 different offences mentioned in the Motor Vehicle Act. However, they have not revealed the amount of fines they've collected. Shakeel Ahmed Sheikh, who sent in the application, said, "On the one hand there is a huge scarcity of parking space in the entire city, but on the other, citizens have to pay for parking their vehicle in the 'no parking area', this is a huge paradox. BMC must consider the parking issue seriously."

Several spots in the city have been designated as no parking zones, such as roads near vital installations, heritage sites, religious places, etc. File pic for Representation

Need unique arrangements
Several spots in the city have been designated as no parking zones, such as roads near vital installations, heritage sites, religious places, etc. Narrow lanes have also been termed as no parking spots. However, this hasn't deterred citizens from parking in these areas. Yogesh Ambe, road safety expert said, "There are two major aspects of this problem. The first is that we lack optimal utilization of the parking space available to us. If we look at the parking lots and vehicles parked in them, one can easily observe that they are haphazardly parked. If we keep some discipline in this, it can help in reducing the problem little bit," he said, adding, "But if we look at the broader picture, the proportion of available parking places and vehicles in the city is inverse. So, unless we do some unique arrangements, it's difficult to overcome this problem."

Traffic cop says
A senior traffic police officer said, "There is a huge shortage of parking space for motorists. But, one must also accept that many motorists choose to park their vehicles on roads or in narrow lanes just to avoid some money for paid parking."

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