Motorists in Bengaluru who take shelter at underpasses or below bridges during rain will have to pay heavy fines. People were advised to halt at BMTC bus shelters or coverings which are off the road.
New Rules
Those who take shelter from the rain or park their vehicles under underpasses and flyovers will now be penalized by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) on the charge of obstruction of traffic for safety reasons.
According to BR Ravikante Gowda, Joint commissioner of police (traffic), the decision was taken after four motorists sustained serious injuries after other vehicles rammed them in separate incidents across the city. Although nobody died in the incidents, two victims were badly injured.
He further added that first-time offenders would be fined Rs 500 while repeat offenders would be penalized Rs 1,000. “Most underpasses do not have proper lighting. When it rains, people can’t see anything until they reach the underpass. This is how the accidents happened,” explained Gowda.
Taking shelter during the rain
Ravikante Gowda further urged the public to halt at BMTC bus shelters or any other such coverings, which are off the road.
“Keeping in mind the risk of parking below underpasses during rain, we deploy traffic police at some places, requesting the public not to take shelter. But, we cannot monitor all the underpasses at a given point in time,” he said.
The BTP officials also said that it is not their intention to trouble people when it is raining. “This problem of parking vehicles under underpasses for a long duration is existent even when it is not raining. It is not something we have brought out now to catch vehicles during the rainy season. It is a safety measure.
Jayamahal Road, Khoday junction, and the flyover near the BDA office are the places where we frequently see this problem of obstruction due to parked vehicles. We will first make an announcement to move the vehicles and only if they do not move, will they be levied fines,” explained Kuldeep Kumar Jain, DCP (Traffic), West Division.
