On a deadline: Motorcycle owners given 15 more days to get registered plates
SSP Imran Shaukat says that plates available in the market are acceptable by law.
A person selling white license plates with the registration numbers in blue colour at Shahrah-e-Quaideen. Police has given 15 days to all motorcycle owners to change their fancy plates to standardised ones. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Given the problems being faced by motorcyclists in finding standardised license plates, the Sindh police have given them 15 more days to complete the task.
Last week, Sindh Inspector General had said that action would be taken against the owners of vehicles, including motorcycles, which use substandard number plates.
According to him, crime analysis revealed that motorcycles were being used in most incidents of crime which is why the drive was launched against the owners of motorcycles that use substandard number plates.
Most owners after the warning rushed to remove their fancy plates, substituting them with the white-coloured ones with numerals painted in blue easily available in the market. Reports, however, surfaced that the plates in the markets have been declared unacceptable and only those issued by the excise and taxation department will be considered legal.
But SSP Imran Shaukat denied any such policy. He told The Express Tribune that the excise and taxation department will issue the registration plates only to the newly registered motorcycles, while the old ones can get their registration plates from the market.
“There is no problem with the registration plates available in market for Rs100 and Rs150. The only thing is that they should have the same pattern as the standardised plates issued by the government,” he explained.
A senior official of the excise and taxation department also said that it would not be possible for the department to issue number plates of all motorcycles in the given time. “We don’t have enough machinery and manpower to complete this huge target,” he justified. “What is wrong with those number plates which are available in the market? They are also visible and acceptable by police.”
The spokesperson of the Sindh police admitted that the motorcyclists were facing hardships in changing their plates and that is why the Sindh Inspector General has extended the deadline for 15 more days. Failure to change their plates within the new deadline may be punishable by law, he warned.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2013.
Given the problems being faced by motorcyclists in finding standardised license plates, the Sindh police have given them 15 more days to complete the task.
Last week, Sindh Inspector General had said that action would be taken against the owners of vehicles, including motorcycles, which use substandard number plates.
According to him, crime analysis revealed that motorcycles were being used in most incidents of crime which is why the drive was launched against the owners of motorcycles that use substandard number plates.
Most owners after the warning rushed to remove their fancy plates, substituting them with the white-coloured ones with numerals painted in blue easily available in the market. Reports, however, surfaced that the plates in the markets have been declared unacceptable and only those issued by the excise and taxation department will be considered legal.
But SSP Imran Shaukat denied any such policy. He told The Express Tribune that the excise and taxation department will issue the registration plates only to the newly registered motorcycles, while the old ones can get their registration plates from the market.
“There is no problem with the registration plates available in market for Rs100 and Rs150. The only thing is that they should have the same pattern as the standardised plates issued by the government,” he explained.
A senior official of the excise and taxation department also said that it would not be possible for the department to issue number plates of all motorcycles in the given time. “We don’t have enough machinery and manpower to complete this huge target,” he justified. “What is wrong with those number plates which are available in the market? They are also visible and acceptable by police.”
The spokesperson of the Sindh police admitted that the motorcyclists were facing hardships in changing their plates and that is why the Sindh Inspector General has extended the deadline for 15 more days. Failure to change their plates within the new deadline may be punishable by law, he warned.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2013.