Dehradun Police conducted a vehicle checking drive and seized as many as 104 vehicles, including school vans for overloading and lack of documents, and imposed challan on vehicle owners, said SP City Jagdish Chandra on Monday.
Due to vehicle checking drive in the city, road users were seen facing traffic congestion at different places including Survey Chowk at noon. It has attracted mixed reaction and parents were seen making queue outside the school to receive their wards.
Chandra said that following the direction of Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Kewal Khurana, all the police station in-charge have been directed to conduct drive to check overloading and documents in the city. Around 104 vehicles including 38-auto rickshaws, 38- Maruti Vans, nine Vikrams and buses, two cars and seven Tata Magic were seized for overloading or for the failure of the drivers to present all necessary documents.
Meanwhile, the members of Auto and Vikram Association sat on demonstration at Parade Ground and later protested outside SSP office shouting anti-police slogans and demanding release of seized vehicles immediately. The members alleged that police has seized their vehicles for overloading though the vehicles have been ferrying students to and from schools for the last many years.
According to them, they may face inconvenience on Tuesday if vehicles are not released. Chandra said that the Auto and Vikram association members met the SSP and said that they would complete their documents within ten days. As students are ferried daily to and from schools and to avoid inconvenience, their vehicles should be released soon. According to Chandra, vehicles will be released by Monday night after collecting penalty from the owners. Talking to The Pioneer Dr Pankaj Sharma said that district administration has failed to force school managements to run their buses and now they have been creating hurdle for parent by running seizing school van.
With this decision we have been forced to receive our ward despite having busy schedule in the afternoon and its credit goes to the Dehradun Police. Earlier we were sure that these van will drop their children but now we have to go to school in the afternoon to receive our ward.
Don’t you think that Police have put additional burden on usIJ Talking to The Pioneer School van owner Tikaram Dabral said that school van ferry children twice a day and police says it is creating traffic congestion and carrying children more than the required number. Although city bus, which carry more than 22 passenger and ferry more than six times a day and pick & drop passengers in the middle of the road but they are not being penalised by the police because they are greasing the palm of the police station and posts as well. Now school van owners are being harassed. It seems they want money from us as well.