On Wednesday, the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) deployed a flying squad to conduct inspections on various types of vehicles, which included 86 construction goods vehicles, 54 auto-rickshaws and 86 school vehicles. The purpose of these checks is to ensure compliance with transport regulations during special enforcement operations.

From Tuesday, the RTO launched a targeted drive focusing on auto-rickshaws, unregistered school buses and vans violating transport rules and goods vehicles lacking proper tarpaulin cover. They also took action against goods vehicles carrying construction materials due to lack of safety measures, which were prone to accidents with other vehicles on the road. Concerns were also expressed about vehicles carrying sand and other materials, thereby hindering the smooth movement of public.

Deputy RTO Sanjeev Bhor said growing concerns about sand particles entering the eyes and accidents caused by sand falling on the road were the primary motivation for the RTO's enforcement efforts on these vehicles.

Regarding violations of RTO norms related to school buses and vans, Bhor pointed out that these vehicles, though privately owned for personal use, are often deployed by schools for transportation services. He stressed that vehicles like the Maruti Omni with a capacity of six passengers and one passenger were allowed to carry up to eight children below 12 years of age. However, these vehicles often exceeded these limits, and carried 10 to 12 children at a time. Additionally, schools were prohibited from using buses older than 15 years to transport school children.

The RTO also targeted auto-rickshaws without permits, driving licenses and badges. Bhor highlighted instances where scrapped vehicles from regions like Marathwada and Vidarbha were illegally converted into auto-rickshaws with fake license plates. RTO flying squads focused their attention on places like the airport, railway station, Swargate bus stand and Shivajinagar, where these violations were most seen.