Days after the Transport Department directed rent-a-car owners to ensure the installation of speed governors, taxi operators have now pointed fingers at the agency concerned for issuing certificates without fact-checking.
The aggrieved taxi operators demanded a thorough inquiry into the matter while alleging negligence by the agency tasked with fitting the speed governors.
"The agency throughwhich we purchased the devices issued certificates stating ‘this particularvehicle has speed governance’ and based on these certificates, the RTO granted usfitness certificates and permits to operate," Bhaskar Narulkar, a taxi operator from Mopa, stated.
The controversy surfaces after the dept's circular mandating the installation and functioning of speed governors in all commercial vehicles, especially rent-a-cars. However, the responsibility for installing these devices was earlier outsourced by the government to a third-party agency.
Those operators who managed to have the devices fitted alleged it had additional problems. "Some of the devices are defective. When we contacted the agency, they claimed the devices were outdated and needed replacement. However, upon reaching the agency, we found the top bosses absent, leading to chaos," said Narulkar.
Despite managing to reach them by phone, the concerns were not adequately addressed. "We questioned them about the defective devices, and they told us we were called to compile a list for replacements," Narulkar added.
Frustrated by the lack of assistance from the agency, the taxi operators turned to the authorities for help but in vain.
Seeking immediate resolution, the operators escalated the matter to the Transport Minister's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) who assured to flag the matter with the minister and transport director.
Responding to the mounting pressure, the Transport Director assured the taxi operators to summon the agency responsible for the speed governors to resolve the issue.
