Restrictions on purchase of new vehicles in Kashmir soon: RTO

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Srinagar, Jan 26 (UNI) A proposal would soon be submitted to the Jammu and Kashmir government suggesting imposition of ''reasonable restrictions'' on registration of new vehicles to ease traffic congestion in the Valley, particularly the Srinagar city, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Mohammad Iqbal Mir said today.

Talking to UNI here, he said the state government would be suggested to bring in a legislation in this regard.

Mr Mir said Kashmir has witnessed a phenomenal rise in the number of vehicles in the recent past, leading to increased traffic congestion, pollution and road accidents in the Valley.

As many as 221 people were killed in 2006 while about 1709 road accidents had been recorded during the period.

By December-end last year, about 1,96,816 vehicles stand registered in Kashmir. Of these, 1,36,534 vehicles were non-commercial and 60,282 commercial, Mr Mir added.

While 1,31,350 vehicles stand registered in Srinagar, 15,609 in Badgam, 15,383 in Anantnag, 15,242 in Baramulla, 10,702 in Pulwama, 3435 in Kupwara, 3884 in Leh and 1211 in Kargil, he said, adding about 25-30 vehicles were being registered in Kashmir every day.

Mr Mir said he would soon submit a proposal to the state government suggesting imposition of ''reasonable restrictions'' on purchase and registration of new vehicles to ease congestion on Valley roads.

''We are also planning to prepare a comprehensive project report on it after studying the examples of Japan, Singapore and other European and Western countries on traffic management,'' he added.

The RTO said the conditions of roads in Kashmir had remain unchanged since the past 30 years. ''Till roads are upgraded and widened to accommodate a huge flow of traffic, these restrictions will remain in force,'' he added.

He said the significant increase in the number of vehicles over the years has resulted in frequent traffic snarls in Srinagar and other main towns and district headquarters of the Kashmir valley.

Mr Mir, who recently took over as the RTO of Kashmir, said his priorities include strengthening the mechanism for registering new vehicles, issuance of licenses besides ensuring strict compliance of traffic norms to minimise road accidents in the Kashmir valley.

The RTO said he would activate the inspectors of the motor vehicles department and direct them to go for random and surprise checks on different routes in the city and other parts of Kashmir.

He said special squads had been formed to check violation of any traffic norms in the entire Kashmir valley. Besides checking overloading, documents and permit routes, Mr Mir said the squads would ensure strict time management so that the public transport plied till late hours in the evening in Srinagar.

The RTO said vehicles would be asked to leave terminals at the allotted time and any violation dealt with strictly.

Mr Mir said he would also call upon the transporters to display fare at all terminals in the Kashmir valley.

The RTO also said he would ensure strict compliance of specific guidelines issued by the competent authority regarding reservation of seats for women in public transport.

Mr Mir said an awareness campaign would be soon launched in the entire Valley to apprise people of traffic rules and regulations.

UNI

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X