To unlock your car, pay fine first

BANGALORE: Next time you park your car near a mall instead of stowing it in its parking lot, be prepared to not just pay a fine but also wait for the traffic police to unlock your vehicle.
In an effort to deter haphazard parking of four-wheelers, especially near malls, across the city, the traffic police have imported 500 car locks from China. These are actually anti-theft locks, used for a rather different purpose here.
The police will use these locks in areas like Sampige Road in Malleswaram.After a mega mall opened here recently, traffic flow was thrown out of gear, with shoppers parking on the roads, despite there being ample parking space inside the mall. The red-and-yellow combo locks are also being distributed in areas like Malleswaram, Jayanagar, Ashoknagar, Cubbon Park, Koramangala and Indiranagar. Each police station will get about 30 locks. Ashoknagar traffic police have been using it for some time now.
Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) Praveen Sood said: "There's no justification for parking on the roads near the malls. We're going to crack down on people who park their cars near Opera junction."
This move will bring some relief for residents near the malls because they're usually horrified to find vehicles parked in front of their houses and they can't even take their vehicles out.
Usually, when traffic police can't tow away bigger vehicles, they stick the notice of a fine on its windshield. But the mild Rs 100 fine hasn't deterred many car owners who just drive away and pay the fine later or sometimes not pay at all.
Now, the traffic police plan to inconvenience these troublesome motorists by locking their cars and unlock them only when they cough up the fine.
"Though many people may call it harassment, it is only designed to deter people from parking their vehicles all over the road," said Sood. When asked about claims that there aren't enough signboards, he said: "It is all about common sense — the world over, nobody puts up a 'No Parking' board every 50 metres."