Observing the Road Safety Week, officials of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) conducted a checking drive at various places in the State capital on Thursday. The RTO launched a special checking drive against two and three wheelers found violating various traffic norms.
Additional Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) (Enforcement), RP Rathore, said that around 25 challans were imposed on public transport vehicles and two wheelers for rash driving, overloading, riding without helmet and other traffic violations.
The checking drive was conducted at Rajpur Road, Chakrata Road, Prince Chowk, Seema Dwar and other places. Vehicle users without valid documents and driving licence were also penalised, he said.
Rathore informed that special checking drive would be conducted against the Vikram tempo drivers operating the public transport vehicles without the route permit from Friday onwards. He mentioned that the checking drive would be mainly conducted against the illegal Vikram tempos operators in the State capital. He said two teams have already been formed for this purpose and the drive would run possibly for two days.
All the illegal vikram operators who are functioning without the route permit would be penalised Rs 5,000 and their
driving permit would also be cancelled, he said. Interestingly, the RTO officials claimed that no route permit has been issued to the Vikram tempos from RTO. The Vikrams tempos are only provided a permit of 25 km radius.
last year in December, the city bus union members, opposing the illegal operation of the Vikram tempos in the State capital, staged a protest and even boycotted work for one day. President of Parade Ground-Parwal-Premnagar City Bus Union, Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal said that out of 1,500-1,600 Vikram tempos operating in the city, only 783 are valid permit holders while the rest are operated illegally.
As per the permit norms of the Vikrams, it can’t carry passengers on booking or pick them from anywhere except designated stops. None of the Vikrams in the city are following the norms. However, most of the Vikrams in the town are also being operated in accordance with the same stage carrier permits which are meant especially for the city buses, said Dandriyal.
Meanwhile, RTO Dinesh Chandra Pathoi has instructed the ARTO Enforcement RP Rathore to impose challan on the Vikram tempos operators driving against the contract permit and picking passengers from anywhere in the town except from designated stops.