Traffic police seek higher footpath on D B Marg to deter parking offenders
Panaji: Since January, Panaji traffic police have booked 452 cases of unauthorised parking. Police said that these violations were recorded not only on D B Marg but also across other parts of the city.
Apart from unauthorised parking, traffic police have also booked 461 cases of no-parking violations and 898 cases of dangerous parking.
Overall, Panaji traffic police have booked 1,811 parking-related violations in the city since January this year.
Amid rising incidents of illegal parking on the footpath along D B Marg, traffic police have written to the Public Works Department (PWD) seeking an increase in the height of the footpath to deter motorists from parking on it.
According to police, most violations have been reported along the stretch between Kala Academy and Miramar. Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Prabodh Shirwaiker has accordingly written to PWD requesting that the footpath height be raised, particularly along this corridor.
Repeated road asphalting over the years has raised the road level to almost the same height as the footpath, making it easier for motorists to drive onto and park on the footpath illegally, police said. While motorists have cited a lack of parking facilities, police maintain that parking on footpaths is unauthorised.
Section 122 of the Motor Vehicles Act prohibits leaving a vehicle in a position that could cause danger, obstruction or undue inconvenience to others in a public place, police stated. This includes illegal parking, blocking an entrance, double parking or abandoning a vehicle.
Police have also written to the Corporation of the City of Panaji seeking replacement of the damaged metal railing on the road median near the Old Secretariat.
Apart from parking-related violations, Panaji traffic police have issued 1,682 challans to motorists for riding without a helmet. They also booked 440 cases of overspeeding, 37 cases of using a mobile phone while riding or driving, 99 no-entry violations and 28 cases of carrying excess pillion riders.
It may be noted that the state recorded nearly 600 traffic violations per day on average during the first five months of the year, with riding without a helmet accounting for more than 45 per cent of the cases.
