In Bengaluru, the traffic police want to start towing (removing) vehicles that are parked illegally. However, they have a big problem – they do not have enough space to park the vehicles they tow away. Three out of four traffic divisions have already received towing trucks. But the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) are still unsure where they can keep the seized vehicles. This issue became serious after the police were asked to clear a large number of vehicles dumped at Jakkarayanakere in central Bengaluru, said a media report.
Not enough space at police stations
A senior police officer said they now have no choice but to keep all seized vehicles inside police station grounds. This is causing space problems. Many stations are already full of old seized vehicles.
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Another officer said the main reason for vehicles piling up is that the police rarely auction unclaimed vehicles, according to The Hindu. Under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act, vehicles that are not claimed by their owners should be auctioned. But this rule has not been properly followed.
Searching for new land
The police have asked Jagadeesha G., the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, to help them find three pieces of land within the city. Each piece of land should be at least three acres in size.
Although the police have some small plots of land, these are not enough to store all the seized vehicles.
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High Court involvement
In 2021, the High Court of Karnataka said that police must make sure no vehicles are parked on footpaths around police stations before punishing the public for illegal parking.
After this, the police decided to move all long-term seized vehicles to one main location. They chose Jakkarayanakere for this purpose.
They also used another police facility near Madanayakanahalli, but that place is also nearly full.
Why not continue using Jakkarayanakere?
Local residents complained about the vehicle storage at Jakkarayanakere. They said:
- The area became overgrown with bushes.
- There was an increase in snakes.
- The place was not properly maintained.
- In 2025, a fire broke out there and more than 100 vehicles were destroyed.
Because of repeated complaints, a high-level government meeting was held. The police were then told to remove all vehicles from that location.
The main problem
The police now face two connected problems:
- Not enough land to store towed vehicles.
- Too many old, unauctioned vehicles already filling police stations.
If this continues, seized vehicles may again spill onto roads and pavements around police stations, which could go against court orders.
In short, while the police want to restart strict towing of illegally parked vehicles, they first need to solve the serious problem of finding enough space to keep them.
