A Calcuttan posted a video on X complaining about an encroached pavement along Rawdon Street on Tuesday night.
Police took up the complaint within a few hours and the pavement was freed of vehicles.
Another Calcuttan complained on Wednesday on the same platform about illegal parking outside a power utility office in the city. The police reacted to the complaint and sought the location of the alleged unauthorised parking.
The pavement after police removed the vehicles on Wednesday.
The police said anyone who wants to report unauthorised parking can post a video on a social media and report the matter tagging Kolkata Police or Kolkata Traffic Police.
In a city where a large number of pavements have been illegally occupied, forcing pedestrians to walk on the carriageway, many do not know where to report their plight.
Reporting an allegation that has a larger public interest via social media could be an alternative to visiting a police station, the police said.
The only requisite is that the agency — in this case Kolkata Police — should be tagged to alert them about the problem if it happens in their area, an officer said.
“We have a dedicated team to track social media. There is a mechanism to alert the local traffic guard if anything under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Traffic Police is reported on social media and if Kolkata Police are tagged. The local traffic guards send officers to the spot to verify the complaint. If the grievance is found genuine, action is taken. The feedback is shared with the complainant using the same social media platform,” said joint commissioner (traffic) Rupesh Kumar.
On Tuesday night, a Calcuttan shared a video showing a pavement where several cars and two-wheelers were parked. The message said: “The situation is absolutely outrageous! The footpaths on Rawdon Street and Robinson Street are being unlawfully taken over by both two and four-wheelers, as if they have some inherent entitlement to park there. Where are we, the taxpayers, supposed to walk?”
A few hours later, another X user retweeted it, this time tagging Kolkata Police, the Kolkata Police commissioner and Kolkata Traffic Police.
On Wednesday morning, a team from the East Traffic Guard went to the spot and prosecuted the illegally parked vehicles.
An officer in the traffic department said posting specific inputs, including the exact location of an encroached pavement, on social media could be helpful in addressing a problem.
“Posts that contain visual evidence like a photograph or a video are more helpful,” he said.
