Bengaluru's towing: New red lines

Public uproar forced a temporary suspension of vehicle-towing in the city. As new rules are being framed, demands for a transparent parking policy and enforcement are growing

Common sense dictated that a city with its unregulated vehicular population should have had a robust parking policy in sync with multi-pronged decongestion methods. But as Bengaluru experiments with a nascent policy, its vehicle-towing system has run into rough weather, raising serious questions about transparency, rules and authority.

The towing of vehicles from no-parking zones is now suspended till a fresh Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) shapes up. The physical assault on a differently-abled woman and the forced seizure of a food delivery executive’s vehicle on January 31 were the immediate triggers. But the issue runs deeper.

Simplified policy

Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had announced that the suspension will stay till a ‘simplified, motorist-friendly towing traffic management policy’ is operationalised. Does this imply the old rules were opaque, lacked clarity and were often enforced without public interest in mind?

The issue of haphazard parking in a city, where the parking zones are often not clearly demarcated, is complex. When roads are in poor shape, footpaths are encroached upon and signboards lack clarity, the line between rules and violations blur.

Vehicle owners are mostly unaware when the towing operation carts their car / two-wheeler away. They are often forced to enquire with the nearby vendors or passersby and frantically search for the towed vehicle in the jurisdictional traffic police station.

No flexibility

But, as the recent Jeevan Bima Nagar episode showed, even if the owner is nearby and seeks a remedy on the spot, the towing staff refuses to budge. In a widely shared video, a food delivery executive was seen running behind the towing vehicle pleading, even as the food packets due for delivery fell onto the road.

Motorists insist that the towing personnel should follow the mandated guidelines, and make a loudspeaker announcement that the vehicle be removed by the owner himself / herself within five minutes before it is towed away. A penalty could be levied before the owner is let off.

‘Healthy’ fear

Towing was first introduced during 1985-86, when former State Director General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh was the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Traffic in Bengaluru. “I do understand that towing was introduced to instill an element of fear in the minds of people parking haphazardly. But this fear should be healthy and in the public interest,” he points out.

He insists that towing is a policing job and cannot be outsourced. “It involves certain legal authority. I hear that they take the help of outsiders, but the authority should remain with the police. This hybrid system will not be a problem if implemented in the presence of traffic police officers. That decision cannot be outsourced.”

Prescribed uniform

It is often seen that the towing operations are conducted with no traffic police personnel at the scene. “I have also seen that people who are employed for towing are in civilian clothes. This is not acceptable. Even if outsourced, the towing personnel should wear a prescribed uniform under the orders of the police officer concerned. Just a badge will not do,” the former DGP explains.

Public complaints are mounting on how towing personnel go about their operation. But beyond this, urban mobility experts feel enforcing parking discipline is a must to decongest the city.

A necessity

“For instance, on the extremely narrow roads in Srirampura, cars are parked everywhere, including the sidewalks. Car owners don’t have to pay for parking space, which occupies road real estate. This is a huge impediment to walkability and cyclability,” notes Jaya Dhindaw from the World Resources Institute (WRI) India.

Towing system is a must, agrees seasoned civic activist Dattatreya Devare. “The police should have every right to tow vehicles away from no-parking zones. If there are flaws in the current SOP, they can be rectified. The basic purpose of a stringent parking policy is to dissuade people from taking out their cars when they don’t need to,” he elaborates.

But Ajai Kumar contends that even if parked illegally, the towing operation should not be harsh on people. He explains, “Forcibly snatching away the vehicle was not the idea (when towing was introduced). There are some habitual offenders who employ stealth and surprise. Towing should be done in a proper manner and in the public interest.”

Video recording

In the wake of increasing conflict between towing staff and motorists, demands are growing to install CCTVs in towing vehicles and body cameras. However, Ajai Kumar sees this as an unnecessary investment. “When you give somebody authority, there needs to be trust. If there is an issue, fix responsibility and deal with it,” he notes.

But the fact remains that if videos were not posted on social media, the excesses allegedly committed by the towing staff would not have surfaced and triggered a public uproar. The need for a review of the SOP would not even be a matter of discussion.

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