There are about 75 lakh vehicles in the State and every year the vehicular traffic is increasing considerably. There is a need to focus on curbing accidents and deaths and as part of these plans, transport department will be procuring two interceptor vehicles for each district to keep a check on road safety rules violators, said Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao here on Tuesday.
Equipped with breath analysers, pollution testing kits, surveillance cameras and other gadgets, these interceptor vehicles will operate and record different offences committed by traffic violators and based on the recordings, challans will be issued to the respective offenders. Each vehicle is estimated to cost Rs.80 lakh and the department plans to purchase them within four months.
“Actually, the plan was to buy 10 such vehicles for each district but due to budget constraints, we have cut short it two vehicles this year,” said Mr. Rao while addressing media persons on the sidelines of launching three-day state-wide Road Safety Celebrations at Deputy Transport Commissioner’s (DTC) Office.
This apart, special emphasis is being laid on controlling drunk-driving menace. Under this initiative, two Motor Vehicle Inspectors in each district will be deployed for conducting special checks at different places. More breath analysers and speed laser guns will also be purchased shortly, he said.
Road taxAddressing on the occasion, Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao appealed to the transport department authorities to facilitate payment of road tax in Andhra Pradesh for vehicles registered in Telangana State. This would not only make things convenient for vehicle owners but would also generate more revenue for the State, he pointed out.
Later, the Minister flagged off a bike rally organised by the department as part of the celebrations to create awareness on road safety rules among road users. He also inaugurated a medical camp and special photo exhibition on accidents, at the DTC Office premises.
Union’s demand to be considered
Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao said the government would examine all possibilities on the APSRTC Union’s demand to take over the corporation. The Congress government had neglected the corporation and as a result, things are in a bad state, he alleged.
“Recently, I inspected Ongole and Guntur bus depots. There are no basic amenities like toilets, drinking water and there was no audit as well. Instructions have been issued to authorities to set things right in 15 days,” said Mr. Rao.
