Mangaluru: RTO raids private buses, books cases

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, May 11, 2015: As per reports, the RTO has been conducting a special drive to check the unauthorised operation of contract carriage and All India Tourist Omni buses.  The crack down is a fallout of a report, ‘KSRTC loses Rs. 14 lakh every day due to illegal operations,’ appearing in the media recently. 

Deputy Commissioner of Transport, Mangaluru, Afzal Ahmed Khan told the media that besides motor vehicle inspectors from his office, inspectors from Davangere, Chitradurga and Chikkamagaluru have been deputed to the special squad, which is alert  on the Mangaluru-Puttur route where the violations are high.

Nearly 20  buses have been seized and another 15 cases have been filed in the jurisdiction of RTO’s of Mangaluru and Puttur, Khan said.

The department has been facing the practical problem of erring operators resuming their operations after getting the vehicles released from the court and paying the fine. As such the department is to recommend cancellation of the permits in such cases.

Balehonnur-based RTI activist Shankaranarayana Bhat, who got details about KSRTC’s revenue loss through a query, informed that he brought the issue of illegal operations of private buses to the department higher ups urging them to initiate necessary action.  He said the department should take stern action so as to eliminate illegal operations not only in Dakshina Kannada, but also across Karnataka.

KSRTC’s divisional traffic officer had informed about 90 contract carriage buses operate between State Bank and Puttur, Uppinangady, Vitla and Dharmasthala every day. Similar is the case with 88 private All India Tourist Omni Buses operating between Mangaluru and Bengaluru.  There were also violations on the Kundapura-Bhatkal route where operation of private buses caused revenue loss to KSRTC.    All these routes come under nationalised scheme and are exclusively meant for KSRTC operations.  This may prove to be an eye opener.