Lucknow, September 1: The years-old problem of accommodating seized vehicles in the capital will soon be resolved. The construction of the detention/dumping yard prepared at Ahimamau for the Transport Department has been completed, and following an inspection by a technical committee, the process of handing it over to the Transport Department is now underway.
Prepared at a cost of about Rs 2.55 crore, the yard will accommodate 136 light vehicles, 15 heavy vehicles and 86 two-wheelers at one time, for a total of 237 vehicles. The department described it as a major step toward the Yogi government's vision for road safety.
Additional Transport Commissioner (Enforcement) KD Singh Gaur said this facility will play an important role in systematically accommodating vehicles seized or detained following action by the Transport Department and enforcement teams in Lucknow. At present, due to lack of adequate space, vehicles often have to be parked at police stations and available open spaces after enforcement action. This creates space constraints at police stations and may affect traffic arrangements when vehicles are parked along roadsides or in other open spaces.
At the directions of the Uttar Pradesh Transport Commissioner, the process of making land available for a detention yard in Lucknow was initiated. Subsequently, Municipal Commissioner, Lucknow, was requested to make land available. Municipal Corporation temporarily made 0.780 hectare (83,958 square feet) of land available in village Ahimamau for parking vehicles detained by Transport Department.
Thereafter, on the directions of the Transport Commissioner, more than Rs 2.55 crore was sanctioned for construction of main building, guard room and boundary wall, among other works. On August 21, 2026, the concerned executing agency informed that all construction works related to the detention yard/dumping yard had been completed. Following completion of the work, it is now to be handed over to the Transport Department. Before the handover, a technical committee will inspect the yard. Engineers from the Public Works Department, Rural Engineering Department, Irrigation Department and other departments have been included in this committee. The committee will inspect the site and submit its report, after which the handover process will proceed.
According to data, during the financial year 2026-27, Lucknow's enforcement teams have challaned a total of 5,628 vehicles, while 491 vehicles have been detained. However, enforcement officers currently lack adequate space to detain vehicles. On several occasions, vehicles cannot be detained because there is no space available at police stations, and the vehicles have to be released after challans are issued. This problem will be largely resolved after the new dumping yard becomes operational. With a designated yard available, vehicles can easily be detained following enforcement action. At the same time, the vehicles can be kept safely within the designated premises.
At present, vehicles are parked at P-4 Parking and Kalli Yard, PGI. With the availability of new Ahimamau dumping yard, vehicles parked at these locations can also be shifted to the new yard as required. This will reduce the problem of seized vehicles being scattered across different locations and help develop a centralized arrangement for the vehicles.
New detention yard is not merely a parking facility for the Transport Department, but is also being considered an important step from the perspective of city's traffic system. When seized or detained vehicles remain parked around police stations for long periods, they occupy space within police premises. At several places, such vehicles also create disorder. Once Ahimamau yard becomes operational, vehicles can be sent to designated premises after enforcement action. This will reduce pressure on police stations, decrease the accumulation of vehicles in open spaces, and reduce traffic-related problems caused by vehicles parked along roadsides.
KD Singh Gaur stated that road safety is a priority of state government. "This is a plan that will provide major relief to general public from problems such as traffic jams, along with departmental enforcement action." He added that construction of dumping yards is progressing rapidly in several districts, including Lucknow. "Dumping yard-detention centre in Lucknow will be put into use soon."
