PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Transport department issued 700 challans and seized 11 vehicles for various violations on Char Dham Yatra routes in the past four days. The department deployed nine enforcement teams across key Char Dham Yatra routes on April 29, the regional transport officer (Administration) of Dehradun division and Char Dham nodal officer Sandeep Saini said. He informed that these teams include seven interceptor vehicles and two task force teams monitoring routes such as Timli-Katapathar-Yamuna Bridge, Yamuna Bridge-Damta-Badkot-Yamunotri, Chinyalisaur-Uttarkashi-Gangotri and others.
Saini also informed that the department has issued over 11,000 green cards and 2,559 trip cards so far for the ongoing Char Dham Yatra. A total of 11,336 green cards have been issued by various offices, including 951 for vehicles from other states. Among them are 3,127 buses, with 353 buses registered outside Uttarakhand. He said that green card centres have been set up in Roorkee (Narson) and Dehradun (Asharodi), along with issuance at all regional offices. Green cards are mandatory for all vehicles traveling for the Yatra or tourism. They include details such as vehicle registration, validity of documents and driver information. For commercial vehicles registered in Uttarakhand, green cards are issued for the duration of the Yatra, while for those from other states, they are valid for 15 days.
This year, commercial two-wheelers operating under the Rent-a-Motorcycle scheme are also being issued green cards. The fee is Rs 450 for light and medium vehicles and Rs 650 for heavy vehicles. A provision has been made to update expired documents such as pollution and insurance certificates in the green cards, Saini said. He informed that trip cards are also mandatory for all commercial vehicles participating in the Yatra or tourism. These cards include details of the vehicle, driver, travel dates, passenger names, addresses and contact numbers. Applications for trip cards can be submitted online two days prior to the journey. Applicants can cancel the trip card before the start of travel if needed. Of the 2,559 trip cards issued so far, 495 belong to vehicles from outside the State, the RTO said. He also informed that the temporary checkpoints have also been established at five locations along the Yatra routes which are Satyanarayan (Haridwar-Rishikesh route), Bhadrakali (Rishikesh-Yamunotri-Gangotri route), Tapovan (Rishikesh-Kedarnath-Badrinath route), Katapathar (Herbertpur-Yamunotri route), and Kuthalgate (Dehradun-Gangotri-Yamunotri route), in addition to Sonprayag (Sonprayag-Gaurikund shuttle service). These checkpoints are operational from 4 AM to 10 PM and include help centres for travellers.
For driver convenience, rest arrangements have been made at Rishikesh office, Haridwar office, Asharodi green card centre, Narson green card centre and Sonprayag. Saini said that to prevent unauthorised operations, enforcement action is being taken against private vehicles used for hire and unlicensed travel agents in Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar. In recent checks, ARTO Enforcement Rashmi Pant and transport tax officer Neha Jha issued challans to 15 private vehicles operating on hire and seized nine of them, he added.
