Mumbai: Illegal parking by service centres on footpaths ignored by BMC

JVLR: Violators - Motor training school cars and private cabs

When pushed into a corner over the severe criticism it received following the implementation of steep fines in its new parking policy, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a statement saying: "Roads serve a public service of providing mobility which is a mandatory duty of the BMC." With the aim of decongesting Mumbai's roads, the civic body on July 7, implemented a fine on vehicles found parked on roads within a 500-metre radius of authorised MCGM parking spots.

Borivli West: Violators - Private buses

The fines will go up to Rs 15,000, including towing charges, for parking within a 500-metre radius of 26 authorised public parking lots and 20 designated BEST depots in Mumbai. It will range from Rs 5,000 for two-wheelers to Rs 15,000 for heavy vehicles. If you add the penalty for late payment, the total could go as high as Rs 23,250. Soon after introducing the rule, on July 8, the civic body fined 56 vehicle owners and collected a total of Rs 1.80 lakh in fines.

Mulund: Violators - Roadside garage owners

Yet, most Mumbaikars, who now park their vehicles in BMC lots are wondering, despite the drive, why isn't there space on footpaths or roads to walk? They find that pedestrian-centric spaces have been taken over by roadside garages. Worse, they park their in-service vehicles on the roads, seemingly without paying any penalty. And they are not the only ones. A trip around Mumbai by mid-day reporters revealed how the BMC is victimising private vehicle owners alone.

School Buses. Pics/Nimesh Dave

Location: Opposite Majas bus depot, Jogeshwari East, JVLR
Closest parking lot: Less than 300 metres away, next to Oberoi International School

On the footpath and at some spots on the east-bound carriageway of the JVLR, private vehicles are found parked without care. The stretch near Shyam Lake and Oberoi International School is always congested with traffic since it is dotted with garages. The garage owners have encroached the footpath along the east-bound stretch and many park their vehicles along the road, narrowing a three-lane road down to two, causing slow-moving traffic during morning and evening rush hours. When mid-day visited the spot, we realised that BMC had been taking no action.

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Private cars

Resident speak
Shreepad Gawde of Poonam Nagar, Jogeshwari East, said, "The rules seems to be only for common citizens while the garage owners continue to illegally park on footpaths."

Official speak
Ward officer Prashant Sapkale remained unavailable despite repeated attempts to contact him on call and text message.

Rickshaws

03
No. of lanes on the road, before illegal parking shrunk it down to two

Location: Devidas Lane, Borivli
Closest parking lot: Parking lot at Club Aquaria, R-North Ward

While the designated parking lot at Club Aquaria lies empty, less than 500 metres from it there are two two-wheeler garages that line the road. This road, four lanes wide and one that doesn't see heavy flow of traffic, was considered a parking spot for tourist buses, heavy vehicles like school buses, private cars and autorickshaws. This has narrowed it to two lanes. Since the introduction of the new parking regulations, the road is breathing slightly but parking continues to remain a nuisance.

The designated pay and park lot at Club Aquaria lies empty (circled), but the road continues to be home to tourist buses and autorickshaws. Pics/Sameer Markande

The road continues to be home to parked tourist buses and autorickshaws. The stretch right opposite the designated parking space, is where tourist buses were lined up. At the end of road is St Lawrence School and its buses were parked by the corner.

A little ahead toward SV Road is the office of Adani Electricity and a local MTNL branch. Here, you see a line of autorickshaws parked through the day. At night, a second line of parked vehicles runs parallel to the autos. While on the odd day, there might still be fines charged, what goes unnoticed is the nuisance caused by garages and puncture service spots where two-wheelers are perenially parked.

While one garage is at the corner that connects Devidas Lane to SV Road, another is opposite the Adani Electricity office. Two-wheelers are parked on the roads outside these garages, which practically run from the footpath that they have encroached, a space designated for pedestrians to walk on.

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Resident speak
Abhishek Raut said, "There are large boards put up regarding the regulation and fines that will be charged. But nobody seems to bother since there is no one present to take action against those breaking rules." Avinash S said, "The parking lot is not open after 6 pm. So, most cars and tourist buses find a reason to park on the road in the late evening and night. If this rampant parking issue is addressed, we can reclaim the broad stretch of road."

Official speak
Sandhya Nandedkar, ward officer, R-North ward, said, "The parking lot is not open 24x7 since we haven't yet finalised a contractor to look after it. That tender is in process and we expect it to remain open at all hours soon. After the contractor is appointed, prescribed parking fees will be charged to all. Also, the traffic police has not been able to yet spare one towing vehicle for us to take action against defaulters. Within seven days, we shall have things streamlined." The parking lot is currently offering free parking for limited time.

6pm
Post which you can't park in the parking lot

Garages and auto service centres on the main road near Sangeeta Enclave in Mulund, not only occupy the footpath, but also the road. Repair and servicing work are carried out on the road

Location: Mulund
Closest parking lot: Runwal Greens, Runwal Anthurium and Vikas Palazzo

The mid-day reporters found several parking violations near Vikas Palazzo and the road between Runwal Greens and Vikas Palazzo. Garages and vehicle service centres are located within 500 metres of the parking lots. While Vikas Palazzo is situated on the narrow JN Road, it has several vehicles permanently parked right beside the public parking lot building. In fact, a small lane just behind the structure is lined with parked vehicles.

Due to haphazarad parking, JN Road is so narrow that a fire engine would find it difficult to enter in case of an emergency. Also, the digital electronic indicators put up on the road displaying the number of empty and filled slots in the parking lots is not functional. Garages and auto service centres on the main road by Sangeeta Enclave, Mulund Mitradham and near Saraswat Bank in Sarvodaya Nagar not only occupy the footpath, but also the road. All repairs and servicing activities are carried out on the road.

Resident speak
A security guard from a building behind Vikas Palazzo, who didn't wish to be identified, said, "These are owned by local residents and parking here is convenient. What is the logic of sending a local to a public parking lot, which is not near the main gate but behind it?"

Official speak
Kishore Gandhi, T ward officer, did not respond to our calls.

Rs 5,000 - Rs 15,000
Amount two- and four-wheelers will have to pay, if found errant

New penalties for illegal parking

Two-wheelers
Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,300

Three-wheelers
Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,200

Light motor vehicles
Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,100

Medium vehicles
Rs 11,000 to Rs 17,600

Heavy motor vehicles
Rs 15,000 to Rs 23,250

The fines will keep increasing daily for late payment charges till the maximum rates

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