'Free parking' has police cash registers ringing

BANGALORE: Mayor Narayanaswamy''s ''freeparking'' scheme has resulted in a whopping rise in collection of fines for thetraffic police. They collected Rs 30.3 lakh by April 30, an additional income ofabout Rs 8 lakh.Most of the fines were collected by way of ''noparking'' fines. Traffic offences, especially haphazard parking, has increasedafter the new system. Policemen booked over 24,000 cases more in April comparedto March when the pay-and-park scheme was in force. They booked 70,142 cases forno parking in April, compared to 46,078 in March. In March, they collected Rs22.45 lakh as fines.However, contrary to belief that the theft ofvehicles will witness a steep upswing with the new system, police statisticsreveal that there has been no marked rise in the number of vehicles stolenduring April as compared to previous months. However, additional commissioner ofpolice (traffic) K V R Tagore said there has been an eight per cent increase intheft of vehicles from parking lots. Majority of vehicles stolen aretwo-wheelers.Before the system was introduced, the mayor and policecommissioner S. Mariswamy were at loggerheads with the latter claiming thatparking would be chaotic and lead to rise in thefts. Narayanaswamy, on the otherhand, forfeited the huge revenue generated from parking fee. Nevertheless, thestate exchequer still stands to gain from the fines collected by thepolice.While thefts increased marginally and the common man is freedof dealing with arrogant parking attendants, they still have to put up withhaphazard parking. Though some motorists feel the system is good as they don''thave to pay for parking, others say they would rather pay a nominal fee andavoid the hassles of shifting vehicles to make space. "Earlier, the attendantwould ensure adequate space. Now we have to make space by moving othervehicles," Naveen A, a two-wheeler rider, said.Yet, for the trafficpolice, it''s a bonanza: they collected Rs 22.6 lakh in fine for no parking andRs 7.7 lakh from towing charges.