BENGALURU: Last week, RTO offices across the state had delayed issuing fresh driving licences due to a technical glitch. There were complaints that in some cases, applicants were told to wait for up to four days.
Confirming it, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told TNIE, “Yes, there was a problem with issuing fresh licences because of a technical glitch. The problem was not specific to Karnataka, but it was pan-India. Everyone was affected last week. But it has been sorted out since. Slowly, RTOs are resuming issuing fresh licences across the state. It was a problem with the chip supplier and the version changed from 1.0 to 2.0, causing this problem. We are working on solving it.’’
Asked why it could not be avoided, he said, “We could not do much as there is a single chip supplier. We are working at it, and it will be sorted out completely soon.’’
Asked why there was a four-day delay, he said, “It was because of holidays in between.”R Ashoka, Assembly Opposition leader and former transport minister, said, “The Union government informs the state government of any change in chip or software. Instead of acting on the issue proactively, they would have procrastinated. Once the time was over, they would have become anxious. They cannot put the burden of this irresponsibility on people. Is this a people-friendly government?”
JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy said, “Do we have an administration? For the inconvenience caused, they blame computers and servers. For funds being distributed through Gruha Lakshmi, they claim there are server problems. How long will they say the same thing and hide behind excuses?”
BJP General Secretary and opposition leader in the Council Ravi Kumar said, “The administration machinery has collapsed. For driving licences, they say there is a problem with servers and computers. Farmers, people and officials are facing problems. The government needs to wake up from its deep slumber.”