The Bengaluru traffic police have collected over Rs 51 crore in traffic fines over the past six days, after it offered a 50% rebate in paying of fines. Reports state that as of Wednesday, February 8, the police collected Rs 51.85 crore from over 18.26 lakh cases. The police, along with the Karnataka government, announced that traffic fines would be slashed for traffic violations from February 3 to February 11.
A day after the initiative was launched, over Rs 13.81 crore was collected in traffic fines from 4.77 lakh cases of violations on February 4. Police stations have seen long queues since then, with people crowding there to clear their dues. According to traffic police officials, 80% of traffic violations in Karnataka are reported in Bengaluru. Motorists have the option of paying the pending dues via Paytm, the KarnatakaOne website, the Traffic Management Centre in Bengaluru or the nearest police station.
The decision to announce such a scheme was taken following a meeting convened by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority. While it has been hailed, many residents of Bengaluru have pointed out that they are often slapped with a fine on false charges of wrong parking, skipping signals and other violations.