KMC's drive against illegal night parking puts brakes on ill practice

Kolkata: The drive of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to pull up vehicles parked illegally during night has earned a major success with more vehicles owners agreeing to pay the requisite fees.

The KMC has decided to impose night parking at Rs 400 per month which comes to Rs 4,800 per year. The civic authorities put up billboards all over the city requesting owners to not park their vehicles illegally at night on the streets. But as there was lukewarm response from the owners, the KMC decided to conduct drives at night.

Drives have been conducted on some of the major thoroughfares of Central and North Kolkata. The civic staffs clamp the wheels of

vehicles that are parked illegally. The owners have to pay Rs 1,000 as fine either on the spot or they can pay the money at KMC offices and get the clamps removed. Most of the errant vehicle owners agree to pay Rs 3,200 as parking fees

till March 2018 (Aug 2017-March 2018).

Civic officials said the response to pay night parking fees is high once the errant owners have been caught. However, no one is coming up on their own to pay one year's parking fees.

The civic authorities decided to impose night parking fees after most of the streets had become an open garage. However, no parking will be allowed on narrow lanes where movement of vehicles will be affected during an emergency. The owners of buses and mini buses that are parked on the streets at night are paying parking fees. However, the owners of taxis are not paying the fees.

Civic officials said drives will be conducted in South Kolkata and southern suburbs where thousands of cars are parked on the streets illegally. Vehicles are parked illegally on roads in and around Kalighat which are close to the residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.