Lorries, tankers overrun Kuloor; No action against illegal parking

Mangaluru, Nov 11: The stretch of road between Kuloor junction and Pump House on the outskirts of the city has been dubbed as an eyesore by commuters and residents of the area, who are fed up with lorries and tankers parking illegally on the sides of the stretch.

From several months, lorries and tankers have taken to parking illegally on the paved sections on either side of the concretized road, presenting a hazard to motorists and also causing damage to the kerb. The parking also has also caused damage to the interlock tiles laid on the sides of the road.

While the locals and students have no option but to walk in the middle of the road due to lack of a proper pavement, they are enraged by the silence and nonchalant attitude of the Mangalore city corporation officials as well as the police department.

The locals have strongly demanded the local administration and police department take action against the illegally parked lorries and tankers to prevent any major disasters in the future.

Locals frustrated

With several major transport agencies being headquartered in the outskirts of the main city, the lorries and tankers have taken to park on the sides of the Kuloor stretch. Due to the frequent incoming and outgoing heavy vehicles, the normal traffic also gets disrupted along the highway.

Since there is no prominent display prohibiting the parking of heavy vehicles or action taken against the illegal parking, the lorry and tanker drivers park as per their will.

No action by police

Local resident Mena D'Souza said that several pedestrians faced trouble as they were unable to walk on the pavement due to the haphazardly parked vehicles. Despite having brought this problem to the notice of the police personnel at Kavoor station or the local corporators, no action has been taken against the illegally parked vehicles, he complained.

There have been several instances where the issue of parking has led to intense arguments between the locals and the lorry drivers from northern parts of the state. Adding to this are the vehicles parked in front of puncture repair shops and garages along the road.

Local corporator Dayananda takes the inaction of police officials to fault for the inconvenience faced by the locals. The parking of heavy vehicles on the pavement has caused damage to the interlock tiles, which is a loss to the city corporation. Few tankers also resort to emptying their remaining waste on the roadside and dirtying the area, he said, warning of protests if the same happened to continue.