March 29, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 25, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, March 28: The drivers of public transport vehicles, found violating traffic rules, will soon have to undergo a mandatory two-week reformative driving training at a traffic school, officials of traffic police said at a meeting on Friday.

The meeting was held to review traffic situation in the city. The police officials said a driving school was being set up for training of drivers of public transport vehicles. The school would be run under the auspices of traffic police.

They said the drivers would shortly be issued identity cards so that they could be identified easily in case of accidents. The meeting was told that a donor agency had provided computer equipment worth Rs1 million, which was being used for networking of traffic offices/posts in the city as well as in Taxila and Murree.

The police officials said the record of the traffic plying on the city roads would be computerized after the networking was completed. Besides, a database of the traffic would also be developed. District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani, who was presiding over the meeting, directed the District Road Transport Authority (DRTA) and the traffic police to launch a drive against smoke-emitting vehicles and under-age driving of public transport vehicles.

This drive, he said, should be aimed at improving the fast deteriorating environmental situation in the city and checking accidents. Mr Kiani also directed the DRTA and traffic police to check public transport vehicles operating without route permits in the city. He said such vehicles should be impounded and retained for at least 72 hours.

The DRTA officials said during the drive against pressure horns on transport vehicles, 500 horns had been so far been removed, and over Rs100,000 collected as fine.