Bhubaneswar: Amidst the ongoing chaos and confusion over the new Motor Vehicles Act, an auto-rickshaw driver was slapped with a fine of Rs 27,500 by officials of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Bhadrak on Saturday.
This is for the second time hefty fines have been imposed on traffic violators in Bhadrak. Earlier, owner of a pick-up van was fined Rs 38,500 on September 5.
As per reports, the auto-rickshaw driver Naresh Sahu was challaned Rs 27,500 for driving an unauthorised vehicle without a valid registration certificate (RC), necessary permit and insurance papers among other violations of traffic norms under the new MV Act.
“The officials stopped my vehicle and asked me show documents. They even asked to sell my land after I told them that I had no money to pay the fine amounting to Rs 27,500,” said Sahu.
Sahu further stated that he will now have to spend over Rs 40,000 to make all the documents ready which have now become a necessity under the new rules.
It is pertinent to mention here that penalties for several traffic violations have been increased considerably under the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act which came into force from September 1, 2019.