Bhubaneswar: Ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Ananta Narayan Jena was fined Rs 500 for violating traffic rule here Sunday. The Bhubaneswar MLA was fined for parking his car illegally at a no-parking zone near AG Square here.
Interestingly, the legislator had gone to sensitise people to follow the traffic rules and the amended Motor Vehicle Act. The Commissionerate Police, which was organising the special awareness drive in Bhubaneswar on road safety and new Motor Vehicles Act, slapped a fine of Rs 500 on Jena, former mayor of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
“The fine was imposed as my driver had parked the vehicle illegally on the road. Law is equal for everyone and we should abide by the traffic norms,” said Jena.
The police move came a day after the people had a face-off with the police over hefty fines for violation of traffic rules near Rajmahal Square here. The police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the agitated people.
Meanwhile, a truck driver in Sambalpur district was fined a whopping Rs 86,500 for violating several traffic rules under the new Act. Although truck driver Ashok Jadav was fined September 3, the matter came to light Sunday after the picture of the challan went viral on social media.
The driver was fined for allowing an unauthorised person to drive (Rs 5,000), driving without a licence (Rs 5,000), overloading with an excess of 18 tonne (Rs 56,000), carrying over dimension projections (Rs 20,000) and general offence (Rs 500), informed Sambalpur’s regional transport officer Lalit Mohan Behera.
However, the fine was settled at Rs 70,000, he added.