Balewadi High Street, a popular night-out spot in Pune, is plagued with parking problems. The people visiting the area park their vehicles in the premises of the Cummins India office, next to the food courts. Two-wheelers are frequently parked in the no-parking zones, leading to vehicle towing. However, both residents and visitors complain that there is no parking space available, which forces people to park their vehicles in the no-parking zone, only to have their vehicles towed and fined.
Neeta Bhonde, a visitor, said, "Parking is a huge problem in this area. You see vehicles parked haphazardly on the streets. The crowd here is insane, and at night time it's even worse. The authorities should make more space for parking."
Mohammad Rizwan, another visitor, remarked, "I've been coming to this place for the past five years. While the area nearby has developed, the parking situation has only gotten worse. Opposite Balewadi High Street is a basketball court and a large ground, I park my vehicle there but I don't think that place is designated for the parking. The towing vehicle charges are not fixed and they charge according to their wishes. I have seen my friend paying different amounts at different times."
Sunil Katariya, a resident of Balewadi, added, "Most of these establishments don't have the space for customer parking. Others have limited space. The valet parking system has failed miserably as vehicles are being parked on roads, footpaths and bylanes. We had discussed the problem with the police commissioner and he asked us to prepare a report on the matter, which we are currently doing."
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Mahesh Bolkotgi, Senior PI, Chaturshringi Police Station, said, "Balewadi High Street has one-way parking and it can accommodate more than 10,000 vehicles at a time, but if a crowd of one lakh gathers then it becomes difficult to manage. Also, we can tow vehicles only until 10pm but if hundreds of them are parked in the non-parking zone we can't do anything. We are coordinating with traffic and PMC too and have asked the shop owners to get the licence for the valet parking."
