The night drive initiative taken up by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) against illegal parking, during night time in the city, is hardly making the desired impact to curb the menace while the collected fine amounts keep filling up the coffers of the civic body.

The KMC in a bid to stop illegal parking during night time in the city had been conducting night-drives to seize vehicles that are being parked at random spots in the city as per the convenience of the drivers. Wheel clamps are attached by the parking officials to such cars.

Owners of such vehicles have to pay a fine amount of Rs 1000- either on the spot or deposit it in the KMC treasury office- to free their seized vehicles. However, it was observed that in most times, the owners are readily paying the fine amount but continuing to defy rules, as claimed by parking department officials.

Speaking on the issue, a departmental official stated “The roads of the city had almost reduced to a garage with owners parking their vehicles at random spots. The traffic police though conduct checks against such illegal parking during the day, at night, the parking rules continue to be flouted by vehicle owners.

The KMC has put up parking zones across the city where one could safely keep their vehicles parked. However, this also requires a parking fee. Most owners and drivers keep their cars at random places to avoid paying the parking fees. Keeping cars at random places lead to blocking of roads and lanes. At times, illegal parking results in scuffles between the drivers and local people.”

The KMC prior to the night drives were spreading awareness against illegal parking by putting up billboards. The civic body had set up parking zones where a fee of Rs 400 were collected from the owners for the purpose. But, the efforts apparently remain futile.

A pedestrian complained “I cannot say what the authorities are doing to curb this problem but it is clearly apparent that drivers continue to park their vehicles at random spots. At times, the drivers often get agitated and gets abusive on being asked to move their vehicles.”

Amit Dhar, an office goer from Esplanade area, said “I generally return home around 9:30 pm from office. Everyday day as I pass the stretch infront of Metro cinema, queue of cars remain parked on the middle of the road blocking the path for other vehicles. Apart from this, the New Market area also witnesses similar issues.”

The concerned official from the parking department explained “The night drives might not have made the desired impact completely, but, to some extent, the illegal parking has gone down as a result of the night drives.

However, during these raids, only one central team conducts surveillance in different areas of the city which is not enough. There is a need to decentralise and carry out such drives in all boroughs by deploying separate teams. This will help cover most areas. Plans are being discussed to beef up vigilance.”