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Driving licence applicants make a beeline for RTO office

BHUBANESWAR: Twenty-five-year-old Alok was seen wandering on the premises of office of Regional Transport Officer (RTO) with nervousness clearly visible on his face. He came with a friend who was equally worried during the day.

The youths were finding it difficult to reach to the cash counter to apply for driving licence. They were not alone. Fifty-year-old Ramakant Sahu was also in the queue.

The tiny campus of RTO office has been jam-packed throughout the day as people rushed to the office seeking fresh driving to escape from being penalised under new police commissionerate system that will come into force from the New Year.

“I have been driving my two-wheeler for last seven years without having driving licence. Since Bhubaneswar is my hometown, I know its lanes and bylanes. Whenever there was a routine traffic check, I used to dodge them by taking alternative route,” Mr. Alok said.

Now it would be difficult to escape as police had been empowered to collect fines, he said.

The RTO has been receiving over 400 applications on daily basis for the last seven days.

“Usually, we used to get applications between 100 and 150. The number has just got doubled. My staff have been overworking in view of extra rush,” Braja Kishore Senapati, RTO, said.

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commission has already made it clear that it will not impose fines strictly for not possessing driving licence and for fine irresponsible driving but it will wait for citizens to get sensitised.

“We will charge Rs. 250 from riders for not possessing driving licence. Other fines include Rs. 1000 for wrong parking, Rs. 100 for overtaking zebra crossing and Rs.100 for driving outside the designated lane,” Bhubaneswar Traffic Inspector Anup Kanungo said.

Meanwhile, motorcycle riders made a beeline to purchase helmets to ensure that they would not be charged penalty under new system.

On its part, the police administration put up display boards at different places to make citizens aware about the driving regulations. Bringing erratic traffic into order has been priority of the new police system.

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