Patna: Patna’s traffic police will begin enforcing a stricter crackdown on illegal roadside parking at night, expanding an existing daytime drive aimed at easing congestion and reducing accidents across the Bihar capital.
Under the new measures, vehicles found parked haphazardly on roads after dark will be seized during routine night patrols and towed to police stations. Owners will face fines and towing charges, officials said, warning that repeat violations could lead to driving licences being cancelled and criminal cases filed.
The action will also apply during the day, with penalties for drivers who park in designated no-parking zones for more than five minutes.
The divisional commissioner, Animesh Kumar Parashar, has issued instructions to senior officials to ensure roads remain free of obstructions and traffic flows smoothly. Authorities have been directed to clearly identify no-parking and no-vending zones and enforce the rules strictly.
According to the administration, enforcement will be particularly rigorous on major arterial roads, including Ashok Rajpath, Nehru Path, Boring Road, Bairia and the Gandhi Maidan area, as well as stretches from Income Tax roundabout to Dak Bungalow Chowk and from Buddha Marg to the GPO roundabout. Parking of three- and four-wheelers has been completely prohibited on these roads.
Officials have also been asked to seize vehicles illegally parked on public roads for sale and take action against their owners. Night-time operations will focus on clearing vehicles parked unlawfully in public spaces, with the administration saying that eliminating traffic jams, encroachments and illegal parking is a top priority.
Real-time monitoring will be carried out through the city’s Integrated Command and Control Centre, while on-the-spot challans will be issued using CCTV and automatic number plate recognition cameras for offences such as no-parking violations, wrong-side driving and encroachments. Orders have also been issued to remove carts and goods from shops located within a 20-metre radius of roundabouts, a measure that will be monitored from the district control room.
Officials said the action was necessary as vehicles parked on roads at night had become a major cause of accidents, with high-speed traffic often colliding with stationary cars on poorly lit stretches. Illegal parking has also been blamed for frequent traffic jams on roads such as Nehru Path, Ashok Rajpath, Boring Canal Road, Kankarbagh, Exhibition Road and Mithapur.
To ease the transition, the administration has outlined alternative parking arrangements. Private four-wheelers visiting ISKCON Temple and Buddha Marg have been advised to use the 96-slot smart multi-level parking facility opposite the Planetarium. Three-wheelers are to be parked in designated multi-modal parking areas, while visitors to the Maurya Lok complex have been directed to use the multi-level parking facility within the complex.
