Many motorists dashed to RTA offices to obtain learner’s licence on Wednesday, jolted into action by the police decision to jail drivers without valid papers.
Many of them were disappointed as half the slots had been booked online.
Desperate motorists, including those whose driving licence had expired, argued with RTA officials to increase the number of slots. The situation turned tense and RTA officials in Khairatabad called the police.
At other RTA offices too, the scene was the same.Traffic police said while the city has 42 lakh vehicles, only about 25 lakh driving licences have been issued. “Over 17 lakh people are driving without licence.There should be more driving licences than the number of vehicles, as a vehicle is driven by more than one person in many cases,” said DCP A.V. Ranganath.
Traffic cops said they would intensify the drive against drivers without licence. All those booked on Wednesday would be produced in court.RTA offices in the city have 2,500 slots a day. Till last month, not even half the slots were booked.
“The fear of going to jail has resulted in a rush for licences, and a picture is being given out that there aren't enough slots,” joint transport commissioner T. Raghunath told this correspondent. RTA officials said they would consider increasing the slots after observing the trend for a few days.
Each learne’'s licence test lasts 10 minutes and the slots are fixed based on the average flow of applicants.
