The people of Dehradun might have felt relieved of the noisy and polluting Vikram tempos being regularly operated in the state capital as their number of city roads was comparatively less on Friday due to a checking drive conducted by the Regional Transport Office.
The RTO has started a checking drive from Friday onwards against all the illegal Vikram tempos operating in the town. However, on the first day, the officials had to struggle to book the violators as the operators kept each other informed of the officials' movements through mobile phones while many did not operate.
Of the approximately 1,600 Vikrams operating in the city only 783 have been issued valid permits while the rest are operated illegally, said Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, president of Parade Ground- Parwal- Premnagar City Bus Union. In the past, the city bus union members had even staged a protest against this and urged the RTO to take necessary action. Taking stock of this nuisance, RTO Dinesh Chandra Pathoi had instructed the officials to conduct a strict checking drive against the offenders.
The Additional Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) (Enforcement), RP Rathore, maintained that around 15 challans were issued to drivers of Vikram tempos violating their contract permit. One Vikram was also seized during the checking drive. A penalty of Rs 5,000 was imposed on the drivers and their permit would also be cancelled by the RTO, said Rathore. He said that in order to avoid the RTO checking and penalty, very few Vikrams operated in town on Friday.
He further said that this checking drive would be continued till this nuisance is curbed effectively. Two teams comprising five members each have been formed to conduct this drive. Few officials have also been called from Haridwar to work in this campaign, said Rathore. Notably, most of the Vikram tempos in the city are being operated on the lines of the permit issued to auto rickshaws. Generally the auto-rickshaw operators are given booking permits which allows them to carry passengers on booking. As per the permit norms of the Vikram tempo, it can’t carry passengers on booking. None of the Vikram tempos in the city are following the norms.
Most of the Vikram tempos in the State capital are also being operated on the lines of the stage carrier permit issued for city buses, informed Dandriyal. He said that in order to curb the illegal operation of Vikrams and overcharging by auto drivers mainly from commuters visiting the town from out of station at the railway station and ISBT, some buses would be made available in these areas during night as well. The round trips of the the city buses would possibly be increased from current three to five or more. During summers city buses would be providing service from 6am to 10 pm while in winter their service timing would be 6 am to 9 pm. He said that after a meeting with transport officials the RTO said that he would announce the exact number of round trips city buses would have to take in a couple of days.