Malabar Hill residents demand restoration of parking spots on Ridge Road
With old buildings and few parking spaces of their own dotted along Ridge Road, the residents were accustomed to parking their vehicles at the sides of the road
Mumbai: When Malabar Hill resident Ravi Mandrekar was recently imposed a challan of ₹500 for allegedly parking his car in a no-parking zone on Ridge Road (BG Kher Marg), instead of paying the fine, he decided to settle the matter with the joint commissioner of police (traffic) Anil Kumbhare.
Highlighting the dearth of parking spaces in the upmarket residential neighbourhood, Mandrekar wrote a letter to Kumbhare and said if the BMC cannot provide parking lots for residents, then adequate roadside parking should be provided in the area.
Mandrekar’s letter brought to the fore a long-standing row over parking in Malabar Hill. With old buildings and few parking spaces of their own dotted along Ridge Road, the residents were accustomed to parking their vehicles at the sides of the road. But all this changed after the COVID lockdown, and the entire road was made a no-parking zone.
Mandrekar said the Ridge Road is a one-way road although with a width enough for a two-way road (22 feet wide) as per the Indian Standard Codes for Roads, even if parking is allowed on both sides of the road. He added that the no parking sign was put up on a spot that is easily covered by walking pedestrians, requesting his challan be cancelled and the no parking sign boards be removed.
“As residents, we’ve seen the situation change over time. The former CM Devendra Fadnavis had a convoy of around two cars, but after him, CM Uddhav Thackeray and current CM Eknath Shinde came with convoys of around 20 cars. When Shinde arrives, the whole road is swept clean,” said one of the residents, referring to the rush outside the official government houses of Varsha, Sagar Sahyadri and more.
Since the beginning of last year, the residents met several officials, from the guardian ministers Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Deepak Kesarkar, the former joint commissioner of police Pravin Padwal, additional commissioner of police (traffic) Ramkumar, the assistant commissioner Sharad Ughade, MP Arvind Sawant, and more.
Prakash Munshi, another resident of the area said that they would now include the demand for dedicated parking spaces in their citizen manifesto.
Some residents said that informally, the traffic police agreed to allow them to park their vehicles between 7pm to 9am. They also agreed to give warnings before fining the cars.
“For people like me, who take their cars to work during the week, the problem is acute during the weekend. But the issue is present all around. On the weekends, the traffic police inform the watchmen of our buildings to clear our cars off on very short notice, so then we have to hurry and park far away, and then come walking back to our homes. All this happens when the VIP convoys are on their way, but is this road only meant for the VIPs?
Explaining the extent of the issue, he said that over 120 families had signed in their support. Five stores on the road also added their names to the list, as their customers weren’t being allowed to park near their shops, making them lose out on their business. With fines of ₹500 for the first time) to ₹1,500 for every time they are caught, residents have racked up challans of ₹15,000 and above. But with no alternative parking space nearby, they have no choice but to bear the price. In August 2023, the residents met with the assistant commissioner of the D ward, Sharad Ughade, and a solution was proposed that paid parking spots would be provided. Although nothing was done.
Gita Ved, another resident in the group, said, “We’re painted as causing obstructions on the road, but when there are meetings, many cars are parked along the road. The police and officials have been very understanding, but the issue is stuck. We still have to manage with no parking on the days in the week, either by parking far off or by leaving our cars in the office.”
Despite repeated attempts, BMC officials could not be reached for comments.