Keonjhar: Tensions flared at the regional transport office (RTO) in this town Thursday after hundreds of people who had been called for driving test found the office closed.
Infuriated people took to the streets and staged a road block on the main road, disrupting traffic for some hours. It was later withdrawn after the intervention of RTO officials.
People questioned as to why they were called for the test on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birthday which is a state government declared holiday. They asked whether the RTO officials weren’t aware of this fact and unnecessarily harassed them by asking them to appear for the test on a holiday.
“Didn’t officers know that Thursday is a holiday? If they were aware of it, why they called us?” fumed test aspirants.
When contacted, an official of the RTO, Nirmal Mohanty said the date for the test had been fixed earlier, much before the 2020 list of government holidays was announced.
“I admit that due to our fault people have been inconvenienced. However we are trying to conduct the test for some of the aspirants and the rest have been asked to come Friday,” said Mohanty.
PNN