HP seeks central assistance to set up driving training institutes

Shimla, Apr 26 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Government has requested the Centre for financial assistance of Rs 12 crore for setting up modern institutes of driving at Dharamsala and Una for imparting proper trainings to drivers working in government, public and private sectors.

State Transport Minister Krishan Kapoor, who held detailed discussions with top officials of Ministry of Transport at Transport Bhawan at New Delhi, said the state government had already identified 15 acre of land for the setting up driving institute.

The identified lands would be transferred to Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and the twin institutes, when fully set up would train 280 heavy vehicles and 380 light vehicles drivers annually, while 400 drivers would undergo refresher courses in driving, he said in a release here.

The Minister said a transport library would be set up in the institute to provide books on road safety, road laws and related issues to the trainees in the institute to inculcate the habit of discipline among the drivers.

Training in day-to-day maintenance and repairs and first aid would also be imparted to the trainee drivers, he added.

Mr Kapoor also requested the Centre to allocate 13 medium and small cranes to retrieve the accident vehicle on national and state highways and 15 ambulances to save precious lives during exigencies.

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