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Kannada license plate numbers on the increase?

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Written By s_yajaman - 12 April, 2008

Traffic Bangalore kannada language Citizen Reports CMV Act Transportation Enforcement

I am sure I will get my fair share of brickbats for this one but here goes...

Of late I have seen an increase in the number of vehicles with Kannada number plates. This is illegal per the provision of rule-50, sub-rule-2 and proviso-D of Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, which specifically states that letters on vehicle number plate should be in English and numerals in Arabic. The Government of India in a notification (No.SO. 444E dated June 12, 1989) issued under Section-41 (6) of the Motor Vehicle Act , 1988, also made these rules mandatory.

A private vehicle is allowed to move around anywhere in the country and therefore has to have a regn. plate in a script that most people can read quickly in the case of an accident.

Why do people do this? Imagine if a car with a Tamil/Malayalam/Oriya number plate is involved in a hit and run accident. How do we note down the number quickly?

Murali sir had an interesting anecdote. He took a photograph of once such car and showed it to the police. After a few days the police get back and tell him that this belonged to a Qualis and not to the car in the picture.

I think there are better ways to propagate a language than by violating a sensible law.

Srivathsa

COMMENTS

what about the even bigger issue, sir?

murali772 - 16 July, 2014 - 06:59

Ruffians driving autorickshaws in the city seem to be ingenious enough to circumvent every new measure police are putting in place to regulate the drivers.- - - Traffic police recently made the display cards 'foolproof' giving them a unique pattern code. But with most drivers not having any display card, the effectiveness of the programme itself is under question.

Additional commissioner of police (traffic) B Dayananda said any mismatch between an auto-rickshaw driver and the details on the display card is a grave offence. "We will ask our policemen manning prepaid auto stands to look at such deviations," he added.

For the full text of the report in the ToI, click here.

Far more important than enforcement of the display card, one would think is the enforcement of display of vehicle registration number plates (a universal and readily distinguishable feature) as per M V Act, ie in English letterings and Arabic numerals (and not in Kannada alone, as is the rampant malpractice, particularly amongst auto's). But, inspite of bringing up the matter repeatedly (check here), even going to the extent of getting an Adll Commissioner level police official to admit before the Information Commission that it was part of his department's job (check here), the enforcement is seen to be pretty slack.
 
What is holding back the Police apparently is the fear of reprisal from language chauvinists. But, is that acceptable, particularly when it can pose a serious security threat, apart from posing regular traffic rules violation and L & O issues?

Security threat is from elsewhere, Mr Minister

murali772 - 19 September, 2014 - 13:54

Vehicles registered outside Karnataka can turn into a security threat if there are no proper checks in place, said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy as he defended the imposition of lifetime taxes (LTT) on non-state vehicle owners.
 
- - - Former Director General and Inspector General of Police Shankar M Bidari concurred with Memon. “This is a technique to increase revenue. I don’t think there is a security threat from non-state vehicles. Most of the vehicles are merely passing through the state. How can this possibly pose a security threat? It is a big state, so they want to collect as much LTT as possible,” said Bidari.
 
K Amaranarayana, a retired bureaucrat who was the Commissioner for Transport & Road Safety when the amendment was made in February, brushed off security concerns. “This is a revenue-generating model. We have 1,900 km of roads that need to be maintained. The High Court had dismissed a petition challenging this, as it is a  state policy,” he said.
 
For the full text of the report in the New Indian Express, click here
 
All the talk about security is just plain hogwash. The real security threat comes from vehicles going about with number plates made out in Kannada alone, like the one in the picture below (clicked at 13:43hrs on 10th September 2014 near cauvery theatre) - a government vehicle at that - in open violation of the M V Act.
Apparently, it is the KDA and KRV that dictate terms to the traffic police and the Transport Dept in these matters.
 
The multiple LTT charge seem unfair, and perhaps needs to be challenged at the higher court.
 

Commendable, Mr Commissioner, but few things seem overlooked

murali772 - 9 July, 2016 - 13:14

A senior officer said policemen often lost their name tags while on duty, but this was the first time someone had sent it back by post.

The officer suspected that the person who sent it had perhaps been in a situation where he wanted to know the name of a cop, but couldn't read it. The man said in his letter that most people in Bengaluru didn't know Kannada, so it would make sense to have the tags in both languages.

The message has apparently hit home. Soon after this, Megharikh issued an order across the commissionerate, making it mandatory for name tags to be written in English as well as Kannada.

It may be recalled that a similar debate took place about a decade ago when number plates of vehicles used by some government officials and police officers were written in Kannada.

The IMV Act clearly states that the number plate be written in English alone, but people would still use Kannada number plates.

The police now claim that 98 per cent of all vehicles follow this rule.

For the full text (emphasis added by me) of the report in the ToI, click here.

Most commendable on the part of the Commissioner to issue orders making it mandatory for name tags to be written in English too, unmindful of the expected backlash from the language chauvinists. There are enough ways to propagating (proathsahana/ uddara maaduvadu) the language, a fine example being the one pursued by Raghu Dixit - check here.

And, indeed, quite as the Commissioner has stated, you don't see too many vehicles these days with number plates just in Kannada. But, for all of that, the traffic police themselves should be setting better examples that seen in the pictures below:

Strictly speaking, the main number plates should have numerals and text only in Arabic (as it's strangely known), and English, respectively. You can make out additional number-plates whichever way you want. Besides, whichever way you look at it, the way the 'Cheetah' number-plates are written, are far from satisfactory.

board size is also wrong..for

srinidhi - 10 July, 2016 - 11:59

board size is also wrong..for the cars/lmv's, the letters need to be a minimum of 2.5 inches in length and .5 inch width(thickness)..

so those plates in the pic are non -conformant!

question of different power centres?

murali772 - 14 April, 2014 - 09:14

Though Pradeep called 100 (the police helpline), he was unable to translate the numerals of the number plate as it was in Kannada. He then called Basavangudi police station and was directed to South End Circle, where a Hoysala was waiting.

For the full text of the report in the New Indian Express, click here

Inspite of any number of such instances being reported in the media, including one involving a Corporator's murder, all we get from the Traffic Police are assurances (latest being on 10th Nov, '13 - scroll above to my post of same date) that they are on the job. Meanwhile, sighting of vehicles with number plates made out just in Kannada is a common occurance on the city roads.

As such, one wonders if, like with UPA-2, another power centre (Kannada Development Authority?, or the KRV?) is dictating matters to the Traffic Police, over-riding the authority of the Home minister.

 

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