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Updated: Jun 26, 2020 02:23 IST

A day after a motorcyclist in Gurugram was fined Rs 23,000 for violations under the new Motor Vehicle Act, transport department officials in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday imposed a hefty penalty of Rs 47,500 on an auto-rickshaw driver for a slew of violations.

Officials of Regional Transport Office of Bhubaneswar imposed a whopping Rs 47,500 penalty on Haribandhu Kanhar, the auto-rickshaw driver, after he was found to be driving the vehicle without a valid driving licence, registration certification, permit, pollution under control certificate and insurance.

Junior Motor Vehicle Inspector Sandeep Paikray said Kanhar was penalised Rs 10,000 each for violating permit conditions, drunken driving and air and noise pollution, Rs 5,000 each for expired driving license, expired registration certificate and allowing an unauthorised person to drive the vehicle, Rs 2,000 for plying the vehicle without insurance and Rs 500 for general offence.

A challan was issued in the name of the owner of the vehicle Kanduri Khatua, a resident of Nayagarh. The vehicle was seized after the driver, who had purchased the second hand vehicle from Khatua at a sum of Rs 25,000, said he can not pay.

This is the first instance of such a hefty penalty being levied by Odisha transport department officials after the new MV Act came into place. Odisha roads are considered to be one of the most dangerous in India with an increase in accident related deaths by nearly 11 percent in 2018 compared to 2017. While 4,790 accident deaths were reported in the state in 2017, the numbers went up to 5,315 in 2018.

As per government figures, more than 43,000 people died and 57,684 people grievously injured in road accidents in the state between 2008 and 2018.