Fear of challans: High applicant traffic at Ahmedabad RTO

AHMEDABAD: Footfall at the Ahmedabad RTO has been 50% higher these days compared to the period of the old fines regime. People have been surging in not only to get new driving licences but also to update licences that were issued before 2010.
Ahmedabad road transport officer S P Muniya said, “Earlier, the Ahmedabad RTO received 150 applicants per day for updating licences. The number has now doubled.” Muniya said 450 people per day apply for new licences now; the number was 300 in the past. According to Muniya, the number of people applying for renewal has increased by 100 a day.
RTO officials said that long queues form from 6am — four hours before the RTO opens. By noon, the queue is about a kilometre long. The rush is putting additional burden on the staff, the officials said. An officer said that RTO staff have to show their IDs to enter the office just to reassure people that they are not queue-jumpers. The officer said that earlier the RTO received 10 requests a day to expedite matters. Now 50 calls a day — a few from senior officials from Gandhinagar — are being fielded.