The security measures imposed by the Mumbai police on five-star hotels following the 26/11 terror attacks have left the BMC and the traffic police in a quandary.
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Hotel parking ban causes traffic jams
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The security measures imposed by the Mumbai police on five-star hotels following the 26/11 terror attacks have left the BMC and the traffic police in a quandary. After the police directed plush hotels like the JW Marriott, Leela Kempinski and Sahara Star not to permit patrons to park their cars inside hotel premises, the traffic congestion on the roads has worsened.
R A Rajeev, additional municipal commissioner (city), said, "If the traffic congestion continues, we will have to convert areas around the hotels into pay and park zones." A traffic official said, "We will hold a joint meeting and find a way out soon."
A BMC official said, "Not allowing cars to be parked inside the hotel has added to our traffic woes. We have high-end technologies that can be used to screen the cars and take them inside. This will solve security and traffic problems." The Taj Lands End in Bandra (West) and J W Marriott in Juhu have barred cars from entering the premises altogether. "At present, we only allow parking for cars that are self-driven, but after stringent security checks. However, a chauffeur-driven car must drop patrons at the entrance and leave," said Bindu Panicker, spokesperson, ITC Grand Maratha at Vile Parle and ITC Grand Central at Parel.
Hotel authorities and patron seem unhappy with the police directives. Prabhat Singh, a chartered account, said, "I had been to Sahara Star and they had a barricade preventing cars entering the hotel premises. It takes about 15 minutes to find parking spaces on the highway and you just don't feel like you're visiting a swanky hotel." A source from the J W Marriott said, "We have made arrangements to pick patrons from the gate to the pouch and back to the gate." Another official from a plush hotel said, "We will continue following the directives as long as the law enforcement agencies ask us to."
| Security measures |
| Other security measures undertaken by plush hotels: - CCTVs installed at all prominent places - Guests made to pass through metal detectors at the entrance and in the lobby and their bags are manually checked - Most hotels ask patrons for identity proof in the lobby Several hotels also conduct surprise checks |
Video: https://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jan/100109-Mumbai-police-parking-ban-five-star-hotels-Mumbai-terror-attacks-Video.htm
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