Deadline for installing panic buttons and GPS in public vehicles, ends but dealock continues

BENGALURU: The deadline for installing panic buttons and GPS in public vehicles under the Nirbhaya scheme has ended. However, vehicle owners are accusing the Transport Department of harassment, saying that the department first fixed the rate and then gave a deadline, causing inconvenience.

The Transport Department has warned public vehicle owners who have not installed panic buttons and GPS device in their vehicles that action will be taken against them.

Umashankar, Additional Transport Commissioner said, “According to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry in New Delhi has made it mandatory for public vehicles, including buses, school vehicles, maxi cabs, contract vehicles, motor cabs and transport vehicles to install panic buttons and GPS under the Nirbhaya scheme for the safety of women and children”.

The Karnataka Transport Department has also set up a Command and Control Centre as part of the scheme. The deadline for installing panic buttons and GPS ended on September 10, but only 7,076 out of over six lakh public vehicles in the state have installed Vehicle Location Tracking Device and Emergency Panic Button. The Transport Department is planning to introduce new rules for vehicles that have installed panic buttons, he added.

Further, Umashankar said that permits of vehicles that have not installed panic buttons and GPS will not be renewed. If a vehicle is found operating without installing panic buttons and GPS, a fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed for the first offence, Rs 10,000 for the second offence, and the Registration Certificate will be cancelled for the third offence.

Amid the Transport Department’s strict order, the members of Karnataka State Transport Associations’ Union warned of holding protests for fixing at least a certain price for the panic buttons and GPS and also demanded extension of the deadline.

Nataraj Sharma, state president of KSPTA said that the Transport Department is pressuring vehicle owners to install panic buttons and GPS. While the cost of installation in other states is Rs 7,000, in Karnataka it is Rs 13,000. Private transporters are demanding clarity (or uniform price) on rates first and then action on panic buttons and GPS installation, expressing their anger.

Additionally, contractors are charging an extra Rs 300 for panic button installation, while the market rate is Rs 150. “Now the vehicle owners are confused where the extra amount is going. This is a scam by the government and the Transport Department. Private transporters are demanding clarity on rates first”, Sharma said.