Odisha Truck Driver Fined Rs 1000 For Not Wearing a Helmet

Odisha Truck Driver Pramod tried to reason with the officials but no one was able to give him an effective answer and he was eventually forced to pay up the money before his permit was renewed.

In a bizarre incident exposing the negligence by the local Regional Transport Office(RTO) functioning, a truck driver hailing from the Ganjam district of Odisha has been fined Rs 1,000 for not wearing a helmet while driving his truck. Yes, that’s right! Pramod Kumar Swain from the Ganjam district of Odisha, who had visited the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in the area to renew the driving permit for his vehicle when he got a rude shock. While enquiring about his permit, Swain was informed that he has been issued a challan for ‘driving without a helmet’ and the fine was pending against his truck.

According to reports, Pramod tried to reason with the officials but no one was able to give him an effective answer and he was eventually forced to pay up the money before his permit was renewed.

Odisha Truck Driver Swain said that he has been driving the truck for the past three years and it is engaged in supplying water. He lamented the fact that the RTO officials couldn’t give him a proper reason for this that these were causing unnecessary harassment of people and collecting money from people.

“The government should take steps to prevent such errors,” he was quoted as saying.

This is not the first time such an incident has happened. Last year, Uttar Pradesh Police fined a man for driving a car without wearing a helmet. The matter came to light after the vehicle owner, Prashant Tiwari of Manna Gaon in Hamirpur district, received an e-challan on his mobile phone.

In yet another similar incident, one Piyush Varshney from UP’s Aligarh said that he had received an e-challan of Rs 500 for not wearing a helmet while driving a four-wheeler a couple years ago. According to him, the challan clearly states his car number and reason for the penalty imposed. Varshney then had started wearing a helmet inside his four-wheeler as a sign of protest.

source: https://www.news18.com/