Illegal parking a hindrance for conservancy workers

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday asked the Kolkata Police officials to take steps to curb illegal parking which is acting as a deterrent to conservancy under Borough VIII of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. A number of councillors under Borough VIII that comprises parts of Bhowanipore and Kalighat area in South Kolkata expressed concern over the parking issue and requested the Mayor to take it up on a priority basis.

According to sources, residents of wards 72, 70, 90 and 85 suffer most because of this problem. Pool cars, app cabs, taxis are found parked here and there in these wards in such a manner that conservancy workers are denied the entry space to clean up the roadside.

The roads that bear the brunt of the parking menace include Sadananda Road, Rajsekhar Basu Sarani, Chakraberia Road, Harish Mukherjee Road, Kalighat Road, Shyamananda Road and Chakraberia South. Some house owners also park their cars on the road space in front of their houses creating problems for the conservancy workers. "The Mayor had asked the borough executive engineer to take up the matter with Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Kolkata Police to ensure that no vehicles are parked in a way that affects conservancy work. House owners should also be asked to remove their vehicles for conservancy work for at least three to four hours in the morning," a senior KMC official present in the meeting said.

Councillors in the area often take drives along with Kolkata Police to assist necessary conservancy work.