The Kashmir Pulse

JAMMU — In a big move, the Transport Department, UT of Jammu and Kashmir, has started centralised printing and dispatch of driving licenses, providing much-awaited respite to license card seekers.

The printing of about two lakh driving licenses, which was pending for more than a year and a half, has been resumed in collaboration with the Ministry of Road Transport, Government of India with the target to print and dispatch all the pending driving licenses within the next two months.

According to Rajinder Singh Tara, Transport Commissioner, J&K, the Motor Vehicle Department has also introduced a major facelift in the new cards, both in terms of durability and standards as the Department has decided to issue the QR code enabled Smart Cards as envisaged in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 marking a major shift from the issuance of normal laminated cards.

The Department has also made all necessary arrangements with the Postal Department to ensure the delivery of the licenses through Speed Post within 24-72 hours depending upon the distance, he added.

The applicant will also get tracking ID through SMS from the Postal Department on their Sarathi registered mobile number for easy tracking of delivery of their driving license.

PULWAMA — The ARTO office in southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district continues to remain headless for a long time due to which the vehicle owners are facing immense hardships.

The authorities had 20 days back shifted ARTO Pulwama. However, despite the passage of over 20 days the authorities failed to appoint the ARTO and instead gave additional charge to RTO Srinagar.

Local residents of Pulwama while lashing out at the authorities said that by giving additional charge to the RTO Srinagar, the authorities have made both offices defunct.

“It is extremely difficult for an ARTO to look after two offices,” locals told the news agency CNS. “The result is that people of Pulwama district are at the receiving end,” added Shafiq, a local residnt.

The applicants who had applied for the issuance of driving licenses said that the delay in the appointment of ARTO hampers work. The driving license trial often gets delayed.

“There is always considerable delay in the driving test trial mainly due to the late arrival of the RTO as he has to simultaneously look after two offices. Sometimes even RTO fails to turn up due to his busy schedule,” said Javid, a resident of Pulwama town.

The transporters are the most affected lot. Some of the transporters said in the absence of ARTO, they often return empty-handed which costs them a business day.

“The transporters are facing the worst hardships. The documents of our vehicles do not get renewed in time due to the absence of the official,” said Irshad Ahmad, a driver.

Irshad said that in the absence of the ARTO, the employees at the office also take them for a ride. He urged the administration to immediately appoint the ARTO at Pulwama office so that people of many blocks in Pulwama district are relieved of the hardships.

SRINAGAR — The Union Transport Ministry has introduced fresh, easier rules to obtain a driving license without going through the painstaking process of driving test.

An amended rule by the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways came into effect on Thursday, allowing candidates to get a driving license without taking driving tests.

Driving license applicants will now be able to obtain the document in an easier way, without going through the tedious process via Assistant Regional Transport Offices (ARTOs).

The Transport ministry has notified the new rules for accrediting driver training centres where applicants will be provided with high-quality driving courses. If the candidates successfully pass the test at these centres, they will be exempted from appearing for driving tests at ARTO offices at the time of getting a license.

According to the Transport Ministry, the Accredited Driver Training Centres are equipped with simulators and a dedicated driving test track to provide high-quality training to candidates seeking a license.

The notification further reads that candidates will be trained in light motor vehicles (LMVs), medium and heavy motor vehicles (HMVs).

The duration for training in LMVs is 29 hours, which will be completed in a time span of a maximum of four weeks from the date of the start of the course. Candidates will be given both theoretical and practical knowledge.

The duration for training in LMVs is 36 hours, which will be completed in a time span of six weeks. Training here will also be theoretical and practical, the ministry said.

Not just LMVs and HMVs, the centres will also provide industry-specific specialised training.