THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The unauthorised parking of tourist buses on the Kowdiar main road and the adjacent road in front of the chief secretary’s official residence is proving to be headache for local residents and the authorities alike.
While the Thiruvananthapuram corporation and the traffic police are aware of the problem, they appear to have turned a blind eye to the violation.
For the past several months, the parking of tourist buses on the busy road has been a common sight. These buses drop their passengers in front of the Museum and Zoo campus and proceed to park them at Kowdiar.
Traffic wardens are not deployed there either, to levy parking fees. In fact, tourist buses are also being parked on the entrance to the Jawahar Nagar road adjacent to Chief Secretary V Venu’s official residence and the Manmohan Bungalow.
At the same time, a senior official with the corporation told TNIE that he was unaware of the unauthorised parking.
“This hasn’t come to my notice. I will urge the city traffic police officials to take action on this as it’s illegal to park heavy vehicles on the Vellayambalam-Kowdiar stretch,” the official said.
A Jawahar Nagar resident, on condition of anonymity, said the tourist buses in question belong to various travels that don’t have adequate parking space.
“There are parking restrictions in front of Raj Bhavan as it’s a VVIP area. It’s the job of the traffic police to ensure that the Vellayambalam-Kowdiar stretch is devoid of any obstruction to ensure a smooth flow of traffic,” the local resident said.
Sheen Tharayil, assistant commissioner of traffic police (north), said tourist bus drivers park their vehicles at Kowdiar after dropping passengers at Suryakanthi Grounds near the Kanakakunnu Palace.
“There is a lack of parking space in the capital city, which has led the drivers to park their buses on the Kowdiar road. However, the parking of tourist buses on the entrance to the Jawahar Nagar road hadn’t come to my notice. I will look into this and take appropriate steps,” the officer said.
