Jalandhar: Cops turn blind eye to illegal truck parking on roadsides

Tribune News Service

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, March 28

Although the city police have taken strict action in the recent past against vendors and pushcart owners for encroaching footpaths and roads to prevent traffic congestion, it appears that officials concerned are turning a blind eye towards illegal parking of trucks and heavy vehicles on roadsides.

The road heading from Patel Chowk to Workshop Chowk, and the areas, including Pathankot Chowk and Tanda railway crossing, have become hotspots of unauthorised parking, posing a significant risk to commuters’ lives, but the traffic police have failed to take any action against violators in this connection.

Commuters complain that illegal parking of trucks not only causes traffic snarls, but also inconveniences them and leads to accidents and frequent quarrels. They alleged that the issue had been brought to knowledge of the authorities concerned several times, but to no avail.

“The road heading from Patel Chowk to Workshop Chowk have virtually turned into a truck bay. A large number of trucks can be seen parked haphazardly on either side of the road,” said Kavita Sharma, a resident,

She said, “There are schools, colleges and even hospitals on the stretch, but despite that the traffic police have not bothered to take action against drivers of these trucks.”

Rajan Sharda, an industrialist, who has repeatedly raised the illegal parking issue with the administration, the Commissioner of Police (CP) office, and even written to the Punjab Chief Minister in this regard, said, “Trucks are parked recklessly in middle of roads without scant regard for the traffic rules. Numerous accidents have occurred on these roads recently, resulting in the loss of lives of many residents.”

He said acting on a complaint filed by his association, the CM office issued directives to the administration and the Jalandhar CP, urging them to convene meetings with transporters and enforce orders for relocating their booking offices and godowns to the area like Transport Nagar. The directives emphasised the need to prevent operations in congested areas like the Industrial Area and Patel Chowk, already burdened with heavy traffic, but still nothing happened, he said.

Residents said, “There is an urgent need for swift and decisive action from the authorities to address illegal truck parking and ensure the safety and convenience of all road users. Failure to do so not only exacerbates traffic congestion, but also jeopardises the lives of commuters.”

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