BHUBANESWAR: Days after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced three-month breather to the people to get their vehicle document ready, the Regional Transport Office-I (RTO) witnessed a drop in the rush of applicants. The fear of hefty fine had led the people to queue up at the RTOs where the officials struggled to meet the steep rise in applications for driving licence and registration. The RTO-I, which used to receive 120 to 130 applications a day, was piled with over 2,000 forms.
To tackle the rush, the office started facilitating LL test for 450 applicants per day, starting Wednesday. While all applicants except two turned up for the test on the day, a whopping number of 113 applicants did not turn on Thursday. The officials said if the applicants do not appear for the test on the scheduled dates, it will take more time to clear the applications.
When an applicant is given a slot, he/she is supposed to visit RTO office, make the payment if not done online, complete the biometrics process and appear for the test. In view of the large scale resentment among the public over the implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Chief Minister on Monday asked the enforcement agencies not to go on overdrive but counsel and handhold the people to facilitate compliance.
The Chief Minister had to step in after irate public took on the enforcement agencies at the Raj Mahal square here on September 7. He appealed to people to get papers ready in three months. Patnaik had also directed the Transport Department to augment public services, strengthen facilitation centres, open extra counters to meet the sudden surge of demand.
Learner licence test
● Two remained absent for the Learner Licence test at RTO-I on Wednesday
● On Thursday, 113 applicants were absent
● The RTO had started facilitating LL test for 450 applicants a day from Wednesday