New Delhi: The Delhi Transport department has towed away over 50 vehicles and fined their drivers with Rs 500 fine each for parking their vehicles in the lanes designated for buses.
Besides this, 97 drivers of the DTC and cluster buses have been fined with Rs 10,000 each under the lane discipline drive launched on April 1, a senior transport department official said. The department has so far imposed fines of over Rs 11 lakh on the violators of the bus lane norm. The extreme left lane of a road is reserved for plying of the buses only.
"Further, we have started towing away smaller vehicles obstructing designated bus lanes and found parked there unauthorisedly. Besides, issuing a challan of Rs 10,000, teams of Transport department and traffic police are also realising towing away charges from the violators," the official said.
The punitive drive was expanded to smaller vehicles on Tuesday observing growing reports of cars, autos, two wheelers obstructing bus lanes.
On Tuesday 20 smaller vehicles found unauthorisedly parked in bus lanes were towed away and challaned. Today, we have challaned over 30 more cars, autos, e rickshaws and two wheelers for violation of bus lane norm, the official said.
The department has deployed 14 cranes to tow away smaller vehicles, and around 35 teams to focus exclusively on them. The department will intensify the drive by deploying more cranes, and roping in civil defence volunteers to help it clear the bus lanes at stands and major road stretches, the official said.
The first violation of lane discipline by bus drivers attracts a fine of Rs 10,000, while the second offence invites prosecution under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act. The third offence may lead to suspension of driving licence and the fourth one may lead to termination of vehicle permit.