PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Passenger vehicle owners in Dehradun have intensified their protest against the requirement of conducting vehicle fitness tests at private centres located in Doiwala and Selaqui areas. Operators of city buses, taxis, Maxi cabs, auto rickshaws, Tata Magic vehicles and Vikrams announced that they will hold a demonstration at Transport Nagar Chowk on Saturday. They stated that if a fitness centre is not opened in Dehradun soon, they will intensify their agitation in the coming days.
According to the president of city bus union Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, the Transport department has stopped manual fitness checks for commercial vehicles within the city. As a result, vehicle owners are compelled to travel to Doiwala and Selaqui to complete the fitness procedure. He said that this process consumes time and increases operational costs. Many operators drive older models and the extra travel leads to further maintenance expenses. He also claimed that the private centres often remain crowded, which causes delays in vehicle operations. He said that passenger and commercial vehicle operators have been demanding the opening of a fitness facility in Dehradun for a long time but the department has not given any response to their requests. Dandriyal said that authorities are not offering a clear solution that has forced them to protest. The absence of fitness services in the city affects public transport schedules as vehicles need to remain off-road for longer periods. This disrupts daily commuters who rely on these transport services. Dandriyal informed that a meeting regarding this issue was recently held at the Dehradun city bus service society office. During the discussion, various union members expressed concern about the increasing burden on operators. They said that small-scale owners face greater difficulties because their earnings depend on daily operations. Leaders of several associations attended the meeting and supported the call for the protest. They urged the administration to respond before the situation escalates and emphasised that the demand is practical and necessary for smooth transport services across the city.
