With officials overhauling the cooling system, arranging more seating and promising to ensure cleanliness, aspiring drivers may not have to sweat it out in queues any longer
Less than a week after mid-day reported about long queues and the lack of ventilation at the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO), steps are being taken to improve the situation so that aspiring drivers are not left sweating.
Changed scenario: The middle partition in the learner’s licence section has been removed, creating more space, and some new chairs have been added to the area.
The RTO administration has called for a tender to install a new cooling system, including fans and coolers, in the section from where learner’s licences are issued. The windows in the area will be broken down and new sliding windows will be installed.
Plans are also afoot to give a boost to seating arrangements in the waiting area. Nearly 400 new chairs have already been brought to the office. Some have been installed and the rest will be installed soon.
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The mid-day report on May 16. Pic/Mohan Patil
When mid-day had spoken to deputy regional transport officer Anil Valiv on May 15 after looking at the situation in the RTO, he had promised to institute some changes.
When we spoke to him yesterday, he said, “It was necessary to upgrade the learner’s licence section as there is a major rush. Our agenda goes beyond increasing the seating capacity and installing a cooling system, we are going to facelift the entire section.
Turnaround? While people were forced to sit on benches or stand around in the waiting area when mid-day had visited the RTO on May 15
The partition in the waiting lounge has been removed to make more space. Security guards will be deployed here to control the crowd and cleanliness will also be improved.”
Fund gathering
“Some private sponsors and an NGO have helped us generate funds for this initiative and we have also managed to raise around R6 lakh by selling scrap material lying on the office premises,” he added. Nearly 30 vehicles caught by the RTO in various raids and other material lying in the RTO premises were sold.
These gleaming new chairs will be installed there soon. Pics/Mohan Patil
Apparent change
Applicants are already seeing the change. “When I came to the learner’s licence section today (Monday) to renew my licence, I was surprised to see a difference. The middle partition has been removed, more chairs have been added and fans are being installed. People have to wait here for hours to get a licence and it’s good that they will at least get to sit in a more comfortable temperature rather than sweating it out in queues in the heat,” said an applicant, Karan Shah.
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