Towing will resume in Bengaluru to decongest traffic: G Parameshwara

Bengaluru: Towing of wrongfully parked vehicles will soon resume in Bengaluru to reduce traffic congestion, Home Minister G Parameshwara announced on Tuesday. 

But instead of outsourcing the task to third-party tow contractors, the towing will be carried out by police vehicles and personnel, he told reporters after a progress review meeting at the police commissioner’s office. 

Noting that two-wheelers form the majority of Bengaluru’s 1.3 crore vehicles, Parameshwara said riders park them at random during rains to avoid getting drenched, causing a lot of traffic congestion. 

He explained that 19 places across the city face severe problems during rains, including eight that experience high levels of traffic congestion. 

“A permanent solution has to be found. If the police and the BBMP work together, the problem can be solved. I have instructed the police to submit a report to the government on how to address the traffic problem,” Parameshwara said. He added that a meeting will soon be convened with the chief minister, the deputy chief minister and the transport minister to discuss the matter. 

The state government had banned towing in 2022 after widespread complaints about harassment by towing personnel. 

Public outcry reached a peak after two videos went viral: one showed a bike owner running behind a towing vehicle begging for the release of his vehicle; the other showed an assistant sub-inspector assaulting a woman over a towing issue. 

At the inauguration of a museum at the Traffic Management Centre on January 30 this year, Parameshwara had revealed that the police had submitted a proposal to resume towing at 75 junctions along 22 high-density corridors. 

Well-placed sources in the traffic police said the initial plan was to hire 10 vehicles for towing at 75 critical junctions on 55 high-density roads, including the Outer Ring Road. 

However, nothing has been finalised yet and the government has asked the traffic police to draw up proposals, work out the modalities and then start, the sources added. 

In an earlier proposal, the traffic police had sought Rs 4.75 crore to hire 10 towing vehicles. The sources stressed that ideally, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) should purchase the vehicles, deploy traffic cops and home guards. 

“We should also do away with towing charges and instead levy only a ‘no parking’ fine, which owners can pay at the jurisdictional police station to retrieve their vehicles. This would curb the bribery that thrived in the earlier system. We should first focus on the high density corridors and arterial roads where traffic obstructs smooth vehicular movement,” the sources said.