Hyderabad traffic police collect over Rs 5.5 crore on discounted challans on day-one

The fine collection could have been more effective if there was not a holiday and had the online servers dedicated to the fine collection not crashed due to massive online traffic, an official said.

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Traffic Police started a one-time discount on pending traffic challans from March 1. The first-day initiative collected over Rs 5.5 crore from traffic challans as it cleared more than 6 lakh pending traffic challans from across the state, said officials who also said that 700 challans per minute were paid on day one, thanks to the concession policy which will be in effect till March 31.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Telangana police have offered to clear between March 1 and 31 all pending bills for traffic violations with special concessions. The fine collection could have been more effective if there was not a holiday and had the online servers dedicated to the fine collection not crashed due to massive online traffic, an official said, “Still, motorists competed to pay the challans. The challan payment server crashed due to overflow. The payment of fines went a bit slow. Motorists, however, paid 700 challans per minute,” he added.

“If it were not for the holiday, more than a thousand challans per minute would have been paid if the service centers were available,” he added. Meanwhile, Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali on Tuesday advised people to get the discount offered on pending challans and clear them before month-end.

Instructions have already been issued to the police officials to sensitize the vehicle owners to clear the pending challans by intensifying checking on the main routes.

The two-wheelers and three-wheelers are given 75 percent discounts, which means they have to pay only a 25 percent fine amount. On the other hand, light motor vehicles and heavy motor vehicles are given 50 percent discounts and the remaining 50 percent is payable.