Residents say illegal parking and wrong-side driving are making area dangerous; allege cops doing nothing
Double parking along the sea face near the Gateway of India
The Clean Heritage Colaba Residents Association (CHCRA) has written to the joint commissioner of police (traffic), highlighting the growing menace of double parking in south Mumbai. The association claimed that law enforcement officials have become mere bystanders, adding that the ‘Colaba quadrangle’, including Boman Kawasji Boman Behram (BKBB) Marg, and the bylanes of Garden Road, Henry Road, J A Allana Road, Walton Road, and P Ramchandani Marg, up to and beyond BEST Marg, is in a state of total disarray.
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In addition to highlighting the chaos caused by double parking, the association specifically pointed out the reckless high-speed driving of food delivery riders in the Colaba area. It alleged that, under the cover of double parking, the footpaths in the area are plagued with defecation, and discarded garbage is frequently seen on the streets after people consume food, beverages, and alcohol.
Double parking in the pay-n-park area at BEST Marg; (right) Behind Taj hotel on Mereweather Road
“The problems are perennial and now have gone beyond acceptable limits across the aforementioned roads and need your urgent and immediate intervention and action as they are leading to rampant violations of law and order as well as traffic, noise pollution, air pollution and other unruly elements frequenting the area, abandoning of vehicles, private taxis operating as regular vehicles parked for days and months, more specifically on Garden Road, Walton Road and BKBB Marg. This is congesting the entire area and inconveniencing local residents as well as those frequenting the areas for few hours. Additionally, there are mobile hawkers vending tea and coffee, defecation of the footpaths/sidewalks by drivers, and also throwing of garbage on streets after consuming food and beverages, including alcohol,” reads the complaint letter submitted to Mumbai traffic police.
The association lamented that Colaba has become the most affected area because of the double parking menace and illegal hawkers in residential areas. “There is constant double parking on BKBB Marg and it worsens late in the evening. It appears the violators are in cohort with law enforcing authorities,” the president of CHCRA, Subhash Motwani told mid-day.
The association has told the traffic police that all ‘no parking’ signage boards have been uprooted from BEST Marg by ‘pay-n-park’ attendants and both sides of roads are illegally occupied by double parked vehicles, removed when a VIP is visiting Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The main culprits are the pay-n-park attendants who keep bunches of keys with them and double park vehicles. This nuisance has now extended to P Ramchandani Marg as well.
Motwani further alleged that the pay-n-park attendants use these upscale areas as open valet areas and double park vehicles to collect huge sums of money, especially on BEST Marg, P Ramchandani Marg, BKBB Marg and the bylanes.
”It is a nuisance for local residents, especially senior citizens, as vehicles once removed cannot get parking spaces easily as most spaces are usurped by outside vehicles including app-based cabs and black-and-yellow cabs whose drivers, instead of parking in designated zones, park for weeks or months in the parking spaces of regular vehicles and are rarely penalized. However, residential vehicle owners are penalised even if they stop to pick and drop senior citizens,” Motwani lamented.
“Shockingly, if double parked vehicles handled by the pay-n-park attendant are penalised, the charges are reversed immediately whereas law-abiding citizens are fined R1500 for a pick-up or drop in order to meet the target of the traffic department. All this happens less than 100 metres from the Colaba police station and even traffic police constables are often seen having a cup of tea with the regular private taxi drivers,” he added.
“There is no accountability and the whole area is a mess. At times this goes on till the wee hours of the night, when valet parking and pay-n-park attendants even drive in the wrong direction to park vehicles which sometimes block corners of bylanes. Shockingly, the attendants know which vehicle belongs to which resident and this is a serious safety and security issue as well,” he added.
“The pay-n-park scheme should be discontinued in the area as it is a big racket. It has proven to be more of a nuisance and has made the whole area totally chaotic and unliveable, apart from being a serious security issue. Traffic constables are rarely seen as it is a large expanse of space to cover with a couple of constables and in most cases, they tend to overlook double parking violations for reasons best known to them,” Motwani informed mid-day. He stressed that in case of an emergency in the area, it would be a serious issue due to the chaos. “The situation gets worse during weekends.”
Meanwhile, vice president of CHCRA, Pervez Cooper said, “Starting from Cafe Mondegar lane, outside and at the rear side of Taj hotel, and outside Hotel Diplomat along Merewether Road (B K Boman Behram Road) up to Arthur Bunder Road, BEST Marg and Ramchandani Marg (seaside), the area is completely controlled and dominated by the pay-n-park mafia. Because of these attendants, double parking is rampant with the traffic cops behaving like mere spectators.”
In their two-page complaint letter to the joint CP (traffic) on Wednesday, the association has further alleged that the other lanes and bylanes have serious issues such as entry violations and there have been instances of senior citizens being knocked off, especially by speeding two-wheelers coming in the wrong direction and entering ‘no entry’ lanes. Electric scooters without number plates are also ridden at high speed. These mostly belong to food delivery apps and local shops. Also, most of these riders park on the footpath, taking over walking space.
A senior officer in Colaba traffic division told mid-day that they have been taking action against motorists violating the rules. “We have also written to civic officials to reinstall the boards removed by civic officials during repair work.”
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