Ritika
tractor trolley
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
Even after the order of CM Yogi, tractors are running rampant on the roads of the district without commercial permit. They are carrying bricks, cement, sand, fertilizers etc without any hindrance. Due to this, the transport department is losing crores of rupees every year. Road accidents are happening due to these overloaded tractor-trolleys. Along with this, truck operators and transporters are also facing losses.
Tractor trolleys are used by farmers for farming, but now they are being widely used in commercial activities. Hundreds of tractor-trolleys are seen running on the roads carrying bricks, sand, ballast, cement, bars etc. Out of these, even one percent does not have a business permit. A total of 5445 tractors are registered in the RTO office for agriculture and 137 for commercial purposes.
Tractor trolley carrying goods from railway rack
Tractor trolleys are also carrying goods from the railway warehouse located on GT Road in Aligarh. Without a business permit, they pick up goods from racks and take them from one place to another and cheat the government of tax worth crores of rupees. Traders also transport goods from them in the greed of paying less freight. Truck operator union and truck owners have also complained about this to RTO enforcement and railway administration. They say that without a commercial permit, tractor owners cannot transport goods at low fares. Due to this, the truck owners are suffering a lot, even after paying the revenue, their earnings are taken away by the tractor owners.
invites road accidents
Overload tractor trolley drivers are also carrying passengers along with goods. These days are also becoming the cause of road accidents. According to a figure, there have been more than two dozen accidents involving tractor-trolleys in a year. Most of these accidents have happened on GT Road.
Case 1- In November 2022, the tractor driver was coming towards GT Road with fertilizer from the railway warehouse. As soon as it reached near the Baraula bridge, suddenly the overloaded trolley got up and the driver came under the wheel. In which he was seriously injured.
Case 2- Five days ago, on February 22, a tractor laden with cement was going on the newly constructed culvert of Sarsaul. Due to overloading, the wheels of the trolley got stuck on the culvert itself. Due to which the bridge was damaged again. Passengers narrowly escaped in the accident. There was a jam for about seven hours.
