Puducherry: Rs 1000 fine for not wearing helmets suspended

PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Wednesday said that orders have been issued for temporarily suspending the collection of Rs 1,000 fine for not wearing helmets while riding a two-wheeler.

The move comes even as political parties cutting across party lines have opposed the immediate implementation of compulsory helmet wearing and levying a fine of  Rs 1,000 as penalty for violation of the rule on the orders of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.

Shortly after chairing a high-level meeting with Transport Minister, Chief Secretary, DGP, Transport Secretary and other officials, the chief minister said that it was agreed upon to stop the collection of the fine till proper awareness was created among the people.

The Police Department will now concentrate on creating awareness among the public, he added. Wondering how a college student or a daily wage labourer earning Rs 600 would pay the fine of Rs 1,000, Narayanasamy said that the blame would not be on the Lt Governor but the elected government. He maintained that his government was not against making wearing helmets compulsory, but the issue should be handled by creating awareness among the public by giving them sufficient time.

"Puducherry is a very small UT, and the amended Motor Vehicle Act has to be implemented gradually by creating awareness. Sudden implementation cannot be accepted, which has caused resentment among the people," he said.

Even before the elected government gave its consent, the MV (amendment) Act, 2019, has been notified in Puducherry. While the file in this regard was pending with Transport Minister MOHF Shajahan, the Lt Governor compelled officials to prepare a shadow file and notify it. Narayanasamy said all the opposition parties, including the BJP here, demanded that the implementation of the helmet rule be stopped and accused the BJP of playing a ‘double game'. The Central BJP government issues direction to implement the rule, and the BJP in Puducherry opposes it in the UT. he said. The number of fatal road accidents involving two-wheelers in 2019 was 180, and it had come down to  88 in 2020, he added.

Earlier DMK supporters, led by party's Puducherry (South) convener R Siva, picketed a traffic police station on Wednesday and protested against the 'forceful' implementation of the compulsory helmet rule in the Union Territory and the collection of Rs 1,000 fine from violators.

Siva said Puducherry was a small place with intermittent crossroads and turns, and the implementation of compulsory helmet rule would lead to an increase in the number of accidents. The public were opposed to this and engaged in altercations with police personnel, who tried to collect penalty from the violators of the rule, he said.

Pointing out to public resorting to a road blockade at Ajantha junction, Siva said, "Instead of implementing the Central government's Motor Vehicle Act, the Puducherry administration should repair all the damaged roads for preventing accidents. Adequate traffic police should be deployed to regulate traffic. Street lights must be repaired. And flyovers should be constructed to reduce traffic congestions." The party’s agitation was temporarily withdrawn as officials informed Siva that a high-level official meeting would take a decision on the implementation of the helmet rule, and DMK's views would be put through at the meeting.

Meanwhile, taking exception to the implementation of the helmet rule, AIADMK MLA Vayyapuri Manikandan on Wednesday told newspersons that adequate awareness must be created among the people, and the rule must be implemented in a phased manner, instead of imposing a penalty to the tune of Rs 1,000.

BJP state president and MLA V Saminathan, in a letter to Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, urged her to postpone the implementation of the helmet rule and the levying of the fine till Assembly elections in the UT got over. Now, the police have started collecting penalty, while the public have opposed the same. “Political parties are worried about the forthcoming Assembly elections as the public's reaction to the rule will reflect in the election results," said Saminathan, adding that the BJP strongly felt that the public displeasure and anger might affect the positive and encouraging election prospects of the BJP directly.