10K challans issued for illegal parking at mkts

NEW DELHI: The Delhi traffic police told the Delhi high court on Thursday that it had issued more than 10,000 spot challans to illegally parked vehicles across 14 busy markets in the city in the past 20 days. The police also informed the court that as many as 50 vehicles were prosecuted for improper parking during loading and unloading of goods in Karol Bagh.

Experts have said that parking on roadsides was the biggest cause of congestion on Delhi’s roads.

The national Capital has over one million registered vehicles. In April, an anti-encroachment special task force had launched a drive to clear the city’s roads of abandoned and illegally parked cars. However, for lack of proper parking space, cars, across the city encroach upon public spaces, roads and footpaths.

A bench of justice GS Sistani and justice Jyoti Singh were informed that a special drive was launched in 14 markets of the city against illegal parking where 10,163 spot challans were issued between November 8 and November 28. While 3,572 vehicles were towed away, 2,910 notices were pasted on the vehicles for unauthorised parking.

The police submitted the data during a hearing on a bunch of pleas which have raised the problems created by haphazard parking on roads Karol Bagh — one of the busiest markets in Delhi. The pleas claimed that vehicles encroach upon almost the entire road, leaving a single lane for the movement of traffic.

The traffic police told the court that maximum spot challans, 1,920, were issued in Karol Bagh and the least — 35 — were given out in Rajouri Garden market. It also told the court that around 750 vehicles were towed away from Vikas Marg since they were parked illegally.

The court was also informed that 16 vehicles were impounded for keeping them lying in public street. Besides, 24 cases were registered against offenders under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On October 29, the court had prohibited t he loading or unloading of goods during the day time in the Karol Bagh area. However, on November 14, the court modified its order and stated that the loading and unloading could be allowed between 11am and 12.30pm.

The matter would be now heard on January 9 next year.