Bhubaneswar: 145 people were arrested for drunk driving Sunday night at different toll gates of the state, said Police commissioner Sudhanshu Sarangi here at the citizen Dialogue on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 organised by Centre for Youth and Social Development and forum for Smart Citizens at CYSD, Monday.
On the occasion, Sarangi said that the police is following the rules and implemented the law formed by the government. “The new MV Act was formed after discussions with more than 20 state governments and after getting clearance from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha so it can’t be said that the law was forceful and sudden. It should be a moral obligation of every citizen to abide by the law,” he said.
He said that there has been a decline in cases of stealing and chain snatching cases since the MV Act was implemented. The new laws have helped in making people aware and responsible, he added.
On the occasion, Transport Commissioner Sanjeev Panda, said that law will only be helpful if it is equal for all. He said that at recent times the focus was more on checking documents rather than keeping an eye on those who broke traffic rules.
He said that even if the government has given a three-month period to manage documents, one’s safety lies in their own hands. He said that if police is punishing the bad drivers and violators then they should also praise and appreciate the good drivers who follow the rules.
B K. Pattnaik, former Chief Secretary and Chairman, Forum for Smart Citizens said that the MV Act has definitely brought a change in the system. He further stated that heavy fines are ways of making people obey rules in other countries such as Singapore and England where people don’t argue over the law once it is implemented.
“As a good citizen of the country we must follow the rules. We will visit the areas of the city to promote the act more and more in the coming days,” he said.
“Enforcement of the law requires huge sense of responsibility among the citizens as well as is the need to rollout a Citizen friendly, hassle-free service in enforcement of traffic rules and services by the transport department,” he added.
On the occasion, some citizens put their pointers to the guests saying that all traffic corners must follow the rules rather than specific traffic counters. This will help in implementing the rule strongly and will make people more alert of following the rules. They also addressed the issue of fraudulent RTO officials and traffic police who are duping citizens on the pretext of providing official documents.
PNN