The district traffic police on Thursday carried out a massive pollution checking drive against erring auto-rickshaws plying in the city. Concerned over rising pollution level in the city, the drive was conducted simultaneously at Sakchi, Bistupur, Jugsalai and Golmuri for over three hours.
The cops checked whether the driver concerned had a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC), otherwise slapped a penalty of Rs1,000 on the spot.
At Bistupur, the checking was carried out near the Traffic Signal Post on the Bistupur Main Road at the N-Road crossing. At Sakchi the drive was conducted near the Sakchi police station, at Jugsalai the drive was carried out near the Jugsalai police station gate and at Golmuri, the pollution checking drive was carried out at the Golmuri roundabout. The Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic) Rakesh Mohan Sinha, himself gave the directives on the drive.
During the drive, the traffic cops focussed on those auto-rickshaws which were found emitting black smoke while plying on the road.
The Traffic officer said the drive was launched to ensure that the auto drivers followed the norms. “The auto operators had been given permit by Regional Transport Authority (RTA). as five-seaters capacity (including driver). However, in the city many auto operators usually carried more than seven persons. From today, autos violating this provision would be liable for a fine of Rs1000,” he said.
“The drive is aimed at keeping a check on the pollution level at the minimum by taking action against the polluting vehicles,” said Sinha. The DSP said they were just checking the PUCC which was issued through a computerised checking system by Nag Motors Training Institute, Sakchi, keeping in view the vehicle emission norm schedule in India.
Moreover, many autorickshaws plying on the city’s busy roads could be seen carrying passengers more than the permitted capacity. In several instances, the number of passengers seated inside the three-wheelers exceeds eight. There are around 25,000 autos which are plying on various routes in city roads carrying more than 2 lakhs commuters each day.
Officials informed that during the drive over 300 auto-rickshaws were penalised for not either having a PUCC or an invalid certificate, adding that the drive would continue till next week.”We are trying, with our existing manpower. We are booking cases especially near schools. But the transport department must follow it up with proper action,” said a traffic official. He added that this drive would continue in city.