GHAZIABAD; In a bid to decongest city roads, the district police launched a massive drive against
unauthorised transport vehicles and errant autorickshaws in all the 16 police stations areas simultaneously on Thursday.
According to
SSP Vaibhav Krishna, 1,524 vehicles were seized and 662 were challaned in two phases of the drive. Within two and a half hours of the drive’s launch, 1,059 vehicles were seized and 337 challaned.
Officers of Loni police station seized 174 vehicles, the maximum number. They were followed by Loni border (150), Indirapuram (130) and Sihani Gate (127). The traffic wing seized another 217 vehicles.
The SSP said the campaign was launched after several complaints regarding illegal plying of transport vehicles were received by his office. “Operation Chakravyuh was launched in all 16 police stations of the district at the same time so that no offender would be able to escape from us. The first phase was conducted between 11.30 am and 2 pm on Thursday during which all senior officers were present at the designated spots to monitor the drive. It has fetched good results and sent a strong message to violators. The operation will continue in the coming days as well,” Krishna told TOI.
Police teams were deployed at 25 spots across the district. Krishna also conducted surprise inspections at various spots. According to police, the vehicles were seized for not having valid permits and violating the norms. Vehicles were also seized for not plying on designated routes and employing minors as drivers under Section 207 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
“Another aim of the campaign is to inculcate traffic sense among vehicle drivers. We will soon launch a drive against commuters who park their vehicles on roadsides and not in parking areas. We will also ensure that street vendors do not block roads,” the SSP said.
The second phase saw 465 vehicles being seized between 6pm and 8pm and 325 vehicles were challaned for violating traffic rules. Police recovered Rs 1.18 lakh as fines.
According to police, residents demanded strict action against unregulated movement of autorickshaws in the area. They said scores of autorickshaws do not follow any traffic rule and park their vehicles haphazardly on the road to pick up or drop passengers.
The problem is quite acute in border areas, be it Loni or Kaushambi.
Vinay Mittal, president of Kaushambi Apartments RWAs (KARWA), said, “There is uncontrolled movement of autorickshaws in Kaushambi as if no rules are applicable to them. Most of them do not have permits and indulge in illegal operations. Another major issue is of overloading. A vehicle meant to ferry either three or seven passengers is overloaded with double the capacity. Autorickshaws also contribute to environmental pollution as a large number of them use diesel. According to norms, only CNG is allowed. We have sought a ban on such vehicles.”
