Here is good news for over one lakh Fresh Driving Licence (FDL) applicants, who are awaiting to receive their smart DL cards for the past one year.
The Transport Department has finally received the chip-enabled cards from the supplier and is despatching them.
It may be recalled that FDL applicants, who had cleared the driving test, and those who applied for renewal, are awaiting the receipt of their smart cards for nearly a year.
The applicants initially made rounds to the offices of the Transport Department only to be told that they would have to wait longer as a new contractor was yet to be appointed by the government for supply of the smart cards.
On an average, around 600 DL cards a day are issued by the Transport Department in Visakhapatnam district, with a major chunk of the applicants coming from the city. The Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Visakhapatnam, issues around 300 new and renewal cards on an average every day.
This apart, the Transport Offices at Gajuwaka and Anakapalle together issue around 300 cards a day.
Hundreds of FDL applicants as also those who applied for renewal of their old DL cards have been agitated over the delay.
Motorists all over the State are facing the same problem. They can breathe easy now. They may, however, have to wait for some more time to receive their smarts cards in view of the huge waiting list. In the meantime, they can continue to carry a PDF of their DL and show it to the traffic police on duty
“The receipt of cards by the applicants may take some more months as there are over one lakh cards to be printed in the district,” says Deputy Transport Commissioner G.C. Rajaratnam.
