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Seizure of buses a big farce

Private travel agents get away with paying penalty

Vijayawada: Even as officials of the Road Transport Authority (RTA) seized several private buses due to misuse of the permits, the operators of private bus travels have come out from the cases by paying nominal penalty.

According to official sources, the RTA officials seized over 150 private buses during the past two months in Krishna district alone.

But operators of the 110 bus services have paid only penalties and started their operations as usual. Remaining 40 buses are under process of being submitted to the courts as per the RTA Act.

All the 110 managements of private buses have paid only Rs 10,000 per bus and are continuing their operations.

As per RTA Act, the private bus operator should pay only Rs 4,000 per driver and Rs 4,000 per operator in case the bus is being plied as a stage carrier with licence of a contract carrier.

In this backdrop, most of the private bus operators are following the same practice. Actually, 90 per cent of the private buses are being operated by the private operators as stage carriers though they have licenses of contract carriers.

Whenever the RTA officials book cases, the bus operators simply pay the penalties and continue the services as usual.

Only when the Acts are changed, the illegal activities of the operators could be stopped, says an RTA official.

Moreover, whenever the buses are booked the operators are are hoodwinking the officials by saying that it is the first time offence. If any operator made the offence in second time, as per Act they are liable for punishment, he said.

Krishna district RTA deputy transport commissioner Ch. Sivalingaiah said that all the operators are coming out from the cases by paying penalties.

But as per the Act, punishing the offenders was not in their hands, he added.

( Source : dc )
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