VV Mohalla grapples with parking space

MANGALORE: One cannot miss the 'Please Do Not Park' signs on the gates of each house in and around Vani Vilas Mohalla, and they are put up for obvious reasons.
VV Mohalla was once a homely neighbourhood before commercial activities invaded its serenity. With commercial buildings mushrooming in the area, parking has become a problem for motorists. The same has robbed the residents of space in front of their houses.The problem has been highlighted to Mysore City Corporation (MCC) and traffic police, but to no avail.
"Five years ago, there was not much traffic in the area and the flow increased because of commercial activities in the locality," says P S Ningegowda, retired assistant secretary, KPSC.
Commenting on the traffic-related problems there, he said people who come for shopping or for other work park vehicles in a haphazard manner. "Because of this, the residents find it tough to park their own vehicles," he claimed.
"Also, the roads in VV Mohalla lack speed-breakers, which encourages motorists to drive carelessly, ending up in accidents," Ningegowda said, pointing at 13 Cross road junction which sees 4-5 accidents every week.
Senior citizen Subramanya M V alleges that most of the commercial complexes in the area do not have cellar parking. "Complexes with cellar parking get filled, because of which motorists park their vehicles on roads," he added.
Subramanya also alleges that there are no road dividers (medians) between Prasanna Parvathi Kalyana Mantap and Nrupatunga Open Theatre, "because of which speedy vehicles collide often". Whenever there is function in Kalyana Mantap, the roads gets jam-packed and it restricts the vehicular movement on the one-way stretch.
With parking space being insufficient in the vicinity, motorists occupy footpath, adding to pedestrians' problems, he added.
When contacted, ACP (traffic) N Vishuvardhana said that he has ordered the three traffic divisions to revise 'No Parking' areas. Admitting that parking problem is causing inconvenience to VV Mohalla residents, he said traffic police are monitoring the locality to check haphazard parking.