Four months after Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) installed no-parking boards in Fatimanagar, the traffic branch of the Pune police on Friday started to clamp down on offenders.
The action started after the board completed laying of an undergound drainage line and tarred the 300m lane next to Diamond Bakery .
The move annoyed residents as the police have converted both sides of the lane into a no-parking area thereby preventing them from parking their vehicles.
Wanowrie traffic division’s senior inspector Jan Mohammad Pathan said, “We launched a seven-day drive to ease congestion in Fatimanagar. On the first day, we took action against 72 vehicles, including 66 two-wheelers and six cars, parked in the lane and Shivarkar Road and fined them Rs 200 and Rs 250 each, respectively .“
Businessman Sher Mohammad Khan said, “The lane on the north side was converted into a no-parking zone five years ago. Police have installed sign boards on the south side.The old buildings constructed more than 40 years ago do not have parking space. The issue bothering residents and businessman here is where should we park our vehicles.“
Another businessman Ranjitsingh Bains said they had submitted a memoran dum to the police to remove the no-parking boards as it was causing severe inconvenience to the residents. “Police had claimed that the boards were wrongly installed and sought time to discuss the matter with the residents for creating more parking space here, but till date nothing has happened.“
Resident Kevin Manuel said they have requested the police to allow residents to park on either side of the lane because most buildings do not have parking space. PCB chief executive officer D N Yadav said, “I will meet ward members and residents to resolve the Fatimanagar parking issue next week. PCB elected member Vinod Mathurawala said they had given noparking boards to the police, but these were not installed.
“A large number of buildings and others have encroached on the setback area meant for parking. More space for parking can be created if these encroachments are removed,“ he added.
Source : TOI
