Want to sell your car or get driving licence? Wait till Karnataka assembly elections end

BENGALURU: Planning to sell or buy a used vehicle? The wait for completion of ownership transfer might get a bit longer. Reason: Assembly elections.
Paperwork that could have been done within days in regional transport offices (RTOs) with the help of agents is now getting delayed as officials claim they have been assigned poll work. "You can submit the applications now, but come back after the elections are over," is the common reply people get from transport officials these days. With counting of votes scheduled for May 13, normalcy is expected to return to government offices by May 15.
Francis (name changed), a techie working in Dallas, decided to sell his Royal Enfield motorcycle before moving his family to the US. But the process is not progressing at an expected pace despite him roping in an agent. "The person who bought the bike from us has paid the money. I have to cancel the hypothecation to transfer ownership to the buyer, but transport officials say they can't do it in the expected 20-30 day time frame as they are on election duty."
Not just Francis, there are hundreds of people whose work is getting delayed as transport officials claim they are on poll duty.
So, what are the responsibilities of the officials? Sources in the government said manning election checkposts, providing vehicles for VVIP movement, enforcement of department rules, seizure of vehicles, checking illegal movement of goods and people for rallies and issuing relevant notices are among the duties employees of the department are caught up with.
Bengalureans have also expressed their angst on social media over halting of driving licence (DL) tests. Twitter user K Krishnamoorthy alleged that the department has stopped conducting DL tests and was told that this would go on till the end of the elections.
'Same problem in other depts too'
Citizens using different forums to express their grievances have alleged that this is not just the state of the transport department but officials across government departments, especially revenue, have been delaying routine work using election duty as an excuse.