Do away with towing

The Karnataka government’s decision to suspend towing of vehicles from no-parking zones and to formulate a new policy is welcome. The decision came after Bengaluru Police came under severe criticism from motorists over the harassment faced by them. Though stories of the tyranny of the towing staff and the frequent tiffs between them and vehicle owners are not new, the recent inhuman physical and verbal attack on a specially-abled woman by a male assistant sub-inspector triggered massive outrage. Towing contractors have become a law unto themselves. They routinely ignore even the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Police Commissioner. Yet, such is their clout that a minor issue that should have otherwise been sorted out at the level of mid-level police officers has now demanded the personal attention of the Chief Minister and Home Minister. The SOP requires the towing operator to sound the siren and make an announcement before lifting a vehicle, but this is seldom followed. Private contractors assigned the job are also accused of towing away vehicles from designated parking areas merely to increase ‘collection’ and earn higher commissions themselves. Most ‘towing boys’ are ‘authorised’ by the jurisdictional police to collect bribes on their behalf in lieu of fines. Though many such transgressions have been caught on camera and have gone viral on social media, the police top brass have not dared to act.

It is believed that most of these towing contracts have been cornered by police officers and politicians in the names of their friends or relatives. Such a phenomenon was observed in 2005 when the Bombay High Court, hearing a PIL against illegal towing, found that 16 of the 116 towing companies operating in Mumbai were owned by police personnel. The situation in Bengaluru must be probed.

Instead of taking an approach of punishing citizens, often for the fault of the city authorities of not having worked out a parking system for the city, the police and BBMP should together evolve a comprehensive solution. This must include setting up multi-level parking facilities, clearly demarcating parking and non-parking zones, strengthening public transport and last-mile connectivity from metro rail stations, and fast-tracking the suburban rail project. The need for human intervention should be reduced to the minimum; towing should be resorted to only when a wrongly parked vehicle hinders the free flow of traffic, that too following the SOP. Towing of vehicles serves little or no purpose in regulating Bengaluru’s chaotic traffic, except in lining the pockets of politicians, policemen and private contractors. Citizens deserve better.