CIT Road residents wake up to clamped cars after KMC-cop drive
Times of India | 9 April 2025
123456 Kolkata: Residents of the Anand Palit area near Entally woke up to clamped cars after Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), with help from the Park Circus Traffic Guard, carried out a two-hour night raid on illegally parked vehicles along CIT Road. Around 20 cars were clamped, according to sources.
Police and KMC sources indicated that the area was chosen after it was found that the stretch between Padmapukur and Anand Palit was experiencing a substantial rise in illegal night parking. "Even as the number of cars getting parked is increasing, there has been no effort by residents to approach KMC and apply for night parking," said a KMC parking department official.
A senior police officer mentioned that Elliot Road, Beniapukur Road, and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road are also seeing rising instances of illegal night parking. "KMC does not let us know the spot where it wants to clamp vehicles. The decision is taken only after their teams reach the respective guard. However, we have provided video and CCTV footage," said an officer.
Unlike police clamping, the clamping by KMC makes it difficult for the motorist to follow multiple steps before they can use the car again. According to norms, once the clamping is done, the motorist must go to the KMC local treasury office and pay a fine of Rs 1000. The owner must return with the challan to the KMC parking department and then get the employees to de-clamp. The police said that since the treasury opens not before 10 am, the entire process gets delayed.
"While putting up the notice, KMC can at least explain to us how to get the car de-clamped. Most of us are not even aware of where the local KMC treasury office is. The cops washed their hands of the operation when we sought help," said Sanat Mukherjee, a local resident.
Both KMC and Kolkata Police stated that they were going to continue raids where illegal parking is increasing. Senior officers at Lalbazar stated that they have already begun sharing feeds from their own CCTV network with the KMC.