Karwar: Two-wheeler riders who were not wearing helmets or were not carrying mandatory documents including the driving license with them were in for a shock in Karwar on Friday. 

The Traffic and Town police conducted a joint operation and collected Rs 1.3 lakh fine from 130 traffic rule violators.

“We were on the roads keeping an eye on traffic rule violators from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. To caution vehicle riders to stick to traffic rules, we initially fined only helmetless riders on Friday. Each helmetless driver had to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. The drive against traffic rule violators will continue and in days to come, all violators will be fined,” said Traffic division PSI Vinayak Billav.

People’s behaviour

While a few helmetless riders were seen arguing with the police, some others took a U-turn as soon as they spotted the police on Green Street. The news of police imposing hefty fines was also being shared on social media including Whatsapp groups and on being alerted, many people wore their helmet to avoid penalising.

“Though we created a lot of awareness among the people about following traffic rules, people keep violating it. We have also distributed pamphlets door-to-door informing people about the rise in fine amount. Inspite of that, people have not bothered to adhere to traffic rules. This is the Union government’s directions and we cannot do anything,” police said.