60% of unclaimed vehicles cleared from footpaths: Police

Even as the citizens are constantly complaining about the seized and unclaimed vehicles by the police on the city’s footpath, several corporators, cutting across the party lines, echoed people’s sentiments before the BBMP council on Wednesday.

Complaining over the traffic mismanagement and the traffic police’s refusal to attend to the problems in their respective wards, many corporators expressed their displeasure before the council.

Demanding the mayor to intervene, the council had summoned traffic police officials to reply to the problems.

Kokila Chandrashekar, corporator from Chamarajpet said: “Several vehicles have been parked on footpaths, especially around the parks for over a year. At times school/college kids go behind these vehicles and indulge in substance abuse and other illegal activities. I have regularly brought this to the notice of the traffic police, but they refused to address the issue.”

Nethra Narayan, corporator from Kaval Byrasandra ward said: “Due to these vehicles, pedestrians, especially senior citizens, find it tough to walk on the roads.”

Former mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said: “During my tenure as a mayor, a 10-acre area near Bingipura landfill site was earmarked to dump the seized and unclaimed vehicles. But to date, the traffic police have not used it.”

Replying to the queries, C A Rangaswamy, ACP (Traffic), Bengaluru Central, said they have already cleared 60 per cent of such vehicles and dumped them at the Jakkarayana Kere in Central Bengaluru.“We have fenced the government land and dumped all these vehicles. But as you all have mentioned, the problem is only getting bigger with every passing day.”

Stating that the Bingipura junkyard was far away from the city Rangaswamy said: “It is located on the city outskirts, and logistics is the main hurdle. However, our Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Ravikanthe Gowda has instructed to hire separate vehicles to tow the remaining vehicles for dumping in the Bingipura yard. We have begun transporting these vehicles to the yard... Soon, the footpaths will be cleared of the unclaimed vehicles.”