SUMIR KARMAKAR
Jan. 17: Dispur has turned down the proposal submitted by Guwahati traffic police seeking amendment in the Assam Motor Vehicle Rules, 2003, making it mandatory for vehicle owners to ensure parking space before registration, like the Mizoram capital, Aizawl.
The commissioner of the state transport department, Swapnanil Baruah, told The Telegraph that the proposal submitted by the traffic police was not feasible for Guwahati. It could not be accepted, as the move would threaten the livelihood of many, who run vehicles and autorickshaws but do not own a house in the city.
“The idea can work in the hilly town like Aizawl, but cannot be replicated in Guwahati. If we make a similar provision here, people dependent on running autorickshaws or vehicles on hire will go to the courts as their livelihood will be at stake,” Baruah said.
The superintendent of police (city traffic), Bibekananda Das, termed the development as “unfortunate”.
He said the proposal was submitted last year keeping in mind the growing problem of parking and increasing number of vehicles in the city.
“More than 150 new cars are registered every month and with the increase in the numbers, the problem of parking is also rising. People have no options but to park here and there, creating congestion in the city. So, we submitted the proposal seeking the amendment,” Das said.
The Mizoram government in August 2010 had amended the Mizoram Motor Vehicle Rules and made it mandatory for car owners to get a garage space before buying a car.
The move was initiated keeping in mind the increasing number of vehicles, making it difficult for the authorities to keep the traffic moving in the hilly town.
Das last week in a news conference said parking space for cars and two-wheelers was the biggest problem y.
“As parking space is shrinking, people are parking their vehicles on the pavements and in no-parking zones. But people do not understand the problem this creates. So, if we make some amendments in our motor vehicle rules making it mandatory to ensure parking place before registration, we can make people understand the problem of space crunch,” Das said.
According to Das, the city witnessed three-fold increase in the number of traffic rule violation cases since 2009 and most of them were related to illegal parking.
Traffic police had registered 41,338 cases of traffic rule violations in 2009 and which went up to 1,26,186 in 2011.
The collection of fines increased from Rs 1,07,80,850 in 2009 to Rs 2,57,33,200 in 2011.
“It has been found that many business establishments in Fancy Bazar, Lakhtokia, Panbazar, Machkhowa, Athgaon and some other busy areas are not using their own parking place. This creates congestion in our markets,” Das said.
Guwahati Municipal Corporation commissioner Puru Gupta said another 94 parking lots would be opened in the city soon keeping in mind the growing problem of parking.