OFC menace persists in Bengaluru as new GBA regulations remain pending
Even busy stretches in the city, such as Hosur Road, Mysore Road, Indiranagar 100 Feet Road, Brigade Road, Bannerghatta Road and Koramangala 80 Feet Road (Ganesh Temple), have cables hanging low, bunched to trees, snapped and lying on footpaths and roads.
In the first eight months of 2026, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has booked a record 10.99 lakh instances of wrong parking, nearly equaling the 11.16 lakh cases recorded throughout all of 2025. This record-breaking figure surpasses the 10 lakh cases booked in each of the previous two years, 2023 and 2022, and an all-time low of 7.26 lakh cases in 2021.
The BTP has also issued a record 1.16 lakh footpath parking cases to date in 2026, a stark increase from previous years when the city saw no more than 90,000 such cases in the first eight months.
Despite the significant enforcement efforts, the BTP admits that the impact on ground level remains minimal. The issue persists even as the city has introduced measures such as towing, paid parking, and dedicated beats. A senior traffic police officer attributes this lack of impact to the low fine for wrong parking, currently set at ₹500, considerably lower than other cities. The officer also pointed out the repeated concessions offered to violators, which they believe undermine the intended deterrent effect of penalties.
The BTP's senior officer further mentioned that the lower fine structure, coupled with often-heeded concession offers, encourages continued haphazard parking. This is particularly problematic as it contributes to micro-level congestion, thereby affecting traffic on arterial roads. The high number of wrong parking cases in the early months of the year is also attributed to the growing number of registered vehicles in Bengaluru, a natural consequence of urban growth.
A key point of contention highlighted by the officers and even the Greater Bengaluru Development Minister is the need to increase the penalty for such violations. The Minister had written to the Transport Minister, urging for a revision of the fine structure, citing that a higher penalty could effectively curb the problem. The officers' concerns echo the broader issue of traffic congestion in the city, where haphazard parking is one of the major contributing factors.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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