Although this leaves motorists in the lurch, but police officials defend the step saying that it has been taken after warnings and signboards put up to make people desist from parking wrongly failed to work. "People know that the space is not meant for parking but still they park their vehicles on the roadside without bothering about the traffic hassles it creates for other  road users. Warnings have been given, sign-boards have been put up but still the problem persists so we were ordered to deflate tyres of  vehicles parked in no parking zone or those parked illegally," says Sunder Kumar, a police official on duty.
 The city is facing an acute dearth of parking spaces. Commercial enterprises are being run in most residential areas. Hefty parking fees in markets and malls which increases every now and then tempts  motorists to park their vehicles on service lanes, especially if they have to park for a few minutes. But now parking in the no parking area even for a minute can waste several minutes when tyres get punctured. "I parked my vehicle on Golf Course road and went to an office just for five minutes but when I came back I found its tyres deflated. I suspected the nearby puncture vendor for doing it. But when I saw many others  like me fighting with him, I got to know that it was done by traffic policemen,"  says Dhruv Malik, a  commuter.
Another motorist says, "Action like this is not justified. We have to pay a hefty amount just for the five-minute parking. It is convenient to park in a service lane if one has to go for a few minutes' work".
Market associations are happy with the move because it has reduced the regular mess on roadsides. The manager of Central Arcade market association, DLF Phase II says, "We have complained a number of times to police commissioner and deputy commissioner for illegal parking on roadside in  green belt area that causes a lot of traffic problems. If an action like this is taken here also we would be more than happy".
The action has just started on Golf Course road and some areas on MG road but other markets also require a drastic action like this. KV Anand of DLF I says, "This is a good idea to drill some sense into people who never understand the importance of rules. However, there should be some regulations for  parking rates because they are increased every other month and people  are left with no other option but to park on roadside".
''Gurgaon police is set to get 800 more cops before the Commonwealth Games. Once we have enough manpower, we plan to improve traffic management in the city,'' says a senior police official.
—Bhawna Gandhi