Bengaluru now has reserved parking for women

The civic authority in Bengaluru has come up with a novel idea to make women feel safe. The city will soon have as many as 1000 parking spots reserved for women across its busy, prime areas.

The project has been implemented in Brigade Road so far and will be extended to 85 prime areas of the city.

"There are people who have all the time and money in the world. They park their vehicles for a long time, for the entire day till late evening. The women, meanwhile, are troubled by this. When they come, they have to go looking for parking for 1-2 km," Sampath Raj, Mayor, Bengaluru.

Mayor Raj says that the idea behind the initiative is to better women's safety by allowing them to park on main roads, especially during the night.

"I think something like this has happened for the first time in the world. There will be some teething troubles initially, but this move will be beneficial in the long run," he added.

Bengaluru's packed streets desperately lack parking spaces and more often than not drivers are forced to go looking for suitable bylanes. The women drivers in the city that WION spoke to expressed great excitement over the initiative. 

"It is something nice that the city is doing for us. you find it so difficult to park with those big cars. it's a wonderful initiative, said a woman driver.

"It gives me more pleasure to come to brigade road and church street now that I have a few slots available where I can park without hassle," said another.

Traders in these areas are also expecting an increase in their businesses as they feel that the slots will be available for genuine shoppers.