Udupi sets one-month deadline for speed governors on all heavy goods vehicles
Udupi Deputy Commissioner T.K. Swaroopa has directed Transport Department officials to ensure that all heavy goods vehicles registered and plying in the district are fitted with speed governors within a month, pointing to slow progress against an earlier target.
The direction was issued on Wednesday while chairing a meeting of the District Road Safety Committee at Rajatadri, the district office complex in Manipal. The Regional Transport Officer (RTO) had been asked at a previous meeting to fit speed governors on 3,785 heavy goods vehicles with six or more wheels in the district. Only about 1,952 of these have been fitted so far. Ms. Swaroopa directed the RTO to strictly implement the rule for the remaining vehicles within a month.
Speed governors are devices that restrict the maximum speed a vehicle can attain. They are mandatory for transport vehicles under central motor vehicle rules, and their enforcement is a standard part of road safety reviews.
Overloading also came under scrutiny at the meeting. The Deputy Commissioner noted that overloading of ready-mix concrete vehicles was causing concrete to spill onto roads and damage them, while overloading of sand transport vehicles was inconveniencing the public and causing accidents. In the last three months, 1,569 vehicles were inspected, 15 cases were registered and ₹3.33 lakh was collected as fines. She suggested that strict action continue in the coming days as well.
On roadside vending, Ms. Swaroopa said unauthorised roadside stalls, fast-food centres, pushcarts and stalls in the Udupi city area should be shifted to the six vending zones already identified by the City Municipal Council (CMC). She instructed CMC officials to take steps to construct shelters in the designated zones without delay.
Reviewing traffic infrastructure, she noted that of the five major junctions in Udupi city, traffic signals have already been installed at Kalsanka Junction and Manipal Syndicate. She instructed officials to install signals at the remaining junctions as well as at the major junctions of Padubidri, Kota, Brahmavara and Kundapura in the district soon.
Two earlier suggestions have not been carried out in full, the meeting was told. Although it was proposed at the previous meeting to check whether all private and government buses plying in the district have doors, this has not been done completely. Ms. Swaroopa instructed RTO officials to provide information on whether all buses plying in the district have doors within two months.
Similarly, instructions were given earlier to install dustbins in buses, after passengers were found throwing empty water bottles while on the move, causing nuisance to other road users. Officials concerned have not paid attention to the matter. The Deputy Commissioner instructed the KSRTC and the RTO to provide dustbins in all buses as soon as possible and submit a report.
On road dividers, Ms. Swaroopa observed that during national highway works, some dividers were left open to facilitate the work, but they remained open even after the work was completed. They should be closed, she said. When people request median openings, the police and the engineers concerned should jointly inspect the site and, if necessary, provide openings, she added.
The directives cover vehicle fitness, enforcement against overloading, traffic infrastructure and commuter facilities. Officials concerned have been asked to act on them and report back.
