Let intercepted vehicles wait at octroi booths, say traffic police

Allowing heavy vehicles that are stopped from entering the city limits to park at octroi booths, instead of the current practice of making them park on the roads where they are caught, could help ease traffic, according to the police.

Heavy vehicles are banned from entering the city during peak hours – 8am to 11am and 5pm to 9pm.

These include mini buses, school buses, private service vehicles, ambulances, trucks and lorries, tanker, delivery van (three- and four-wheelers) and tractors.

The traffic police officers said the idea of restricting heavy vehicles was to provide more space for other vehicles to pass. But making them wait on the road, defeats the purpose of the ban.

The traffic police have now written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to allow them to make these vehicles wait till the peak hours end in the space earlier used by octroi booths at Mulund and Airoli. The space is vacant as octroi has been abolished.

“In a day, at least 100 heavy vehicles are intercepted and penalised,” said Amitesh Kumar, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

“We have written to the authorities and are awaiting their reply,” said Veeresh Prabhu, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

Officials from the civic body, however, said that the space has been reserved for a casting yard for the coastal road project.