Illegal driving schools mushrooming in Hyderabad
Call for detailed inspection prior to their enrollment in Sarathi portal
Hyderabad: Due to rampant corruption and negligent attitude of the officials of Road Transport Authority (RTA), scores of illegal motor driving schools are brazenly running in the city. With the Transport Department having mandated that all driving schools in the state must integrate with the Sarathi Vahan software platform, there is an urgent call for the authorities to conduct inspections of these schools prior to the enrollment of the driving schools in Sarathi portal.
Many illegal schools have sprung up in the city; they do not bother about following the safety norms prescribed by the RTA. No proper training is being given by such schools, which leads to mishaps. Many schools do not possess proper safety mechanisms to teach driving skills, thus putting people's lives at risk. However, the department has not had, till date, any record of unauthorised driving schools. However, it is said that there are over 700 illegal driving schools in the Greater Hyderabad region alone.
M Dayanand, general secretary of Telangana Auto and Motor Vehicle Welfare Union, said, “There are more than 700 unauthorised driving schools functioning without renewing their licenses in the city. Every motor training school has to renew its licence every five years; however, many fail to do so and operate freely.”
Everything is online nowadays, so the RTA has data of every driving school. Then why aren't notices being sent to these schools and why any action is not taken on them, the union leader questions.
Dayanand said that recently, the Telangana Transport Department issued a directive to mandate that all driving schools in the state must enroll with the Sarathi software platform and certification processes compulsory with an aim to streamline operations and standardise the issuance of Form 5 for heavy driving licences.
“With hundreds of motor driving schools running illegally in city, the Transport Department must initiate a special checking, verify the registered schools and take action against the unauthorized motor driving schools before the enrolment in the Sarathi to ensure that all driving schools operating are authorized and are registered under the Sarathi portal,” demands Dayanand.
The union alleged that several branches of the driving schools are running on a single licence. “A driving school registered in Secunderabad runs many branches on the same license which is a clear violation but so far no action has been initiated,” he added.
