After acting against footpath encroachments, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Friday launched a city-wide drive against abandoned vehicles, with Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda announcing that unclaimed vehicles would be auctioned if owners failed to remove them after receiving notices.
Launching the drive on Queens Road, Mr. Gowda, along with the traffic police and the GBA officials, pasted notices on abandoned vehicles.
He said the joint exercise by the GBA and Bengaluru Traffic Police has so far identified 1,581 abandoned vehicles across the five corporations, and the number is expected to increase as inspections continue.
“Owners have been given one week to claim their vehicles after paying a ₹1,000 penalty. Vehicles that remain unattended will be towed to designated yards, with owners required to pay towing charges in addition to the penalty. Repeat offenders will face a higher penalty. If a vehicle remains unclaimed 15 days after it is towed, it will be auctioned,” he said.
Stressing that roads and footpaths are public property, the Minister said abandoned vehicles inconvenience pedestrians, worsen traffic congestion and affect the city’s appearance.
Mr. Gowda clarified that the campaign is not aimed at vehicles in regular use. “We are not targeting vehicles that are regularly in movement. We are targeting vehicles that have been left in the same spot for weeks,” he said.
Calling it a problem that had existed for over 30 years, the Minister said parking regulations requiring houses to have dedicated parking spaces had not been enforced for decades, resulting in residents parking vehicles on public roads.
“If I suddenly say you cannot park on the road at all, it would be practically difficult. But we are making every effort to implement the law,” he said, requesting residents to make parking arrangements on their premises.
“The road is not gujri (scrap yard). It is public property. These measures may anger some people, but you should park at your home,” he added.
Mr. Gowda said the South City Corporation began action against vehicles parked in ‘No Parking’ zones, adding that enforcement on major roads would be expanded in phases.
Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Friday directed the contractor executing the long-due Wind Tunnel Junction underpass project on HAL Airport Road to deploy additional manpower and expedite construction to ensure its completion within three months.
Inspecting the ongoing works near the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, the Minister said all utility shifting works associated with the project had been completed. With retaining wall construction now under way, he instructed officials to speed up execution.
Even GBA Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao has given similar directions multiple times during his visits.
Mr. Rao said the work was being carried out in a manner that would minimise inconvenience to commuters. He said temporary roads would be constructed on land belonging to the Defence establishment, ISRO, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and certain private properties on either side of the junction to facilitate uninterrupted traffic movement during construction.
The ₹19 crore project, which is 75% completed, involves the construction of a 300-metre-long, four-lane underpass, with a width of 7.5 metres on either side.
Published - July 10, 2026 09:09 pm IST