Restore manual vehicle fitness test centres: Transport workers’ org

Guwahati: Transport operators of the ‘Motor Parivahan Sewakarmi Sonmilita Manch’ (United Forum of Motor Transport Workers) have urged the state transport department to temporarily restore manual vehicle fitness testing centres at district levels, citing severe logistical, financial and safety challenges arising from the shift to automated testing stations (ATS).In a letter submitted to the commissioner of transport, operators said the existing ATS infrastructure is grossly inadequate to handle the volume of vehicles seeking fitness renewals.While welcoming the centre’s policy to modernise vehicle fitness certification through automated testing, operators flagged that only six ATS currently working along the state, serving vehicles registered under 32 district transport offices (DTO).“The ATS currently are in Jorhat, South Salmara, Rangiya and Biswanath Chariali districts. According to our estimates, each ATS can test around 30-40 vehicles a day, and even if they extend their working hours and bandwidth, it won’t exceed further to 60-70 vehicles,” Rabindra Kumar Dutta, president of Greater Guwahati Tourist Taxi Association, said.“According to rough estimates, about 200 vehicles need fitness renewal daily in each of the 32 DTOs, taking the total to nearly 6,400 vehicles a day across Assam. However, with only six Automated Testing Stations in operation, each ATS would have to handle about 1,066 vehicles daily, which is practically impossible. It is not clear how the department plans to manage such a large number with so few testing centres. This gap would lead to long delays and backlogs, Dutta said.