Borigumma: Though the imposition of heavy penalties by local authorities for violation of traffic norms have been less in the state these days, locals of Borigumma block are panicky to be on the roads.
After a long gap, as helmet-checking and verification of documents pertaining to vehicles have started in the block of Koraput district, vehicle owners and drivers are finding it difficult to face the consequences of violating traffic rules, a report said.
According to sources, Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Koraput recently noticed eight auto-rickshaw owners to pay a penalty of Rs 1,01,000. Likewise, local police have slapped penalty of Rs 22,500 on a vehicle driver named Khiradhar Mahuria.
Similarly, another driver named Niranjan Pujari of Kamata village was penalised for not having the required documents of the auto-rickshaw which he purchased seven months back in Jeypore.
It is known that Pujari has been noticed to pay a penalty amount of Rs 15,500. Similarly, Biswanath Harijan who had purchased an auto rickshaw from a showroom at Nabarangpur a month back has to pay Rs 10,500 penalty.
Even as the deadline for verification of documents by local police and road transport authorities has been delayed further till February this year, local vehicle owners have resented the imposition of heavy penalty.
As we get the relevant documents from RTO late, why should we be penalised instead? The local authorities play double standards, commuters alleged.
Giving his reactions, local ARTO said, “If anyone has applied for documents well before being caught during verification, then for obvious reasons relaxation will be given on the imposed penalty.”
Worthy to note, the new MV Act which came into force from September 1 was resented all over the state. It was subsequently extended up to three months and again till February 2020, owing to lack of adequate infrastructure with the RTOs for preparing necessary documents.
Given that Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 wanted to deter individuals from violating traffic rules, it has introduced heavy penalties for drunken driving, driving without licence, driving without authentic documents, rash as well as dangerous driving and over-speeding.
PNN
