Bhubaneswar: A whopping Rs 1.06 crore in fines was collected from traffic rule violators across Odisha after re-enforcement of amended Motor Vehicle Act on March 1, Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said on Monday.
The penalty was collected by the staff of Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and police since Sunday.
The State Transport Authority (STA) strictly implemented the amended MV Act on March 1 after six months of relaxation to the people for the preparation of documents.
As many as 3,870 motorists were penalised for violating traffic rules, 126 fined for triple riding on two-wheelers whereas 1,831 were caught for helmetless driving, the Minister said.
Ten persons were penalised for driving on wrong routes, 48 persons were asked to pay penalty for talking over mobile while riding whereas and 277 were fined for over speeding, as per the information shared by the Minister.
As many as 24 motorists caught for drunken driving while 349 motorists were fined for driving four-wheelers without wearing seat belts.
While the Road Transport Officials collected Rs 88 lakh as penalty from 1,785 people, the police issued traffic tickets of Rs 18 lakh to 2,112 people for flouting traffic rules.
Meanwhile, a police constable in Sambalpur district has been suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol.
On the other hand, Congress MLA Suresh Kumar Routray said the party would not tolerate any kind of misbehaviour towards women and girls during checking.
“We will not tolerate any kind of misbehaviour towards women and girls. If penalties under new the MV Act are not reduced within 10 days, we will gherao RTO offices and other Central government offices across Odisha,” he said.
However, the Transports Minister said that the officials engaged in implementing the traffic norms have been instructed to behave properly while collecting penalty from the violators.
(IANS)
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