Abandoned cars pose traffic hazard in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Abandoned vehicles are not only a major eyesore — they’re proving to be a major traffic hazard in south Bengaluru.
Motorists travelling on Someshwaranagar Road towards Siddapura-Jayanagar on Thursday had a tough time negotiating past decrepit cars, some of them overturned, on the carriageway. At least half-a-dozen cars abandoned on the pavements for several months had been pushed onto the road by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) personnel carrying out storm water drain work in the area.

While BBMP personnel maintained that they had no other option than to remove the vehicles from the pavement, motorists were baffled to find the vehicles blocking the carriageway and slowing down traffic.
“This road is used by ambulance crews and people heading to two hospitals in the area, Nimhans and Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health,” said Shashwathi Krishna, a commuter. “Dumping old vehicles on the road puts many motorists at risk.”
A traffic police officer said commuters had complained about abandoned vehicles being dumped on the road. “These vehicles were shifted by BBMP workers when they started drain work in the area. They did not inform police,” he said. “We have sent personnel to the spot to check whether the vehicles were seized by traffic police or simply abandoned by the owners.”
When contacted, BBMP Siddapura ward assistant executive engineer Kotresh Naik said he was not aware of cars being dumped on the road. “We requested police to clear the pavement as the contractor had to complete drain work,” he said. “But the original owners of these cars could not be traced.” Naik said he suspected the hindrance was the handiwork of some locals.
Jayanagar traffic police inspector KP Putta Obala Reddy said the cars may have been abandoned on the road by some service stations. “The cars seem to have been left on the footpath for a long time now and no one has come forward to claim them so far. We will summon the owners of garages in the locality on Friday and direct them to take away the vehicles,” Reddy said.
Clearing abandoned vehicles from the city’s roads is a major issue because of ambiguity over who will crack the whip. While BBMP claims it is the duty of traffic police to clear vehicles from pavements, the latter maintain that they can penalise vehicle owners for parking violations but do not have the power to remove abandoned vehicles.
The BBMP had in 2011 made an abortive attempt to introduce nominal charges for people who park vehicles on roads and footpaths.