Civic life: Sense and licence
It was only when Raheel Ahmed heard about drivers to be thrown behind bars if found without a driving license did he check the expiry date on his own driving licence in his wallet. “It expired three years ago. I was going to be in big trouble if I didn’t get it renewed right away,” he said.
“But then after just a day or so, I saw another news item in the papers which said that drivers would not be jailed after all. Instead they would be ‘challaned or ticketed’. Simultaneously, there was another piece of news saying that the driving licence campaign had been postponed until February 2016. At least, they were giving us time to get our papers in order,” the young man appreciated.
Meanwhile, not having seen the extension or postponement news, several people lined up at their nearest driving licence issuing branches. Some of them had been driving for years but never even thought of applying for a licence before this. Some had a licence but weren’t sure if it was genuine as they had gotten it made by an agent or tout they had run into near a driving licence issuing branch.
Traffic police takes an intitiative to streamline issuance and validity of driving licences
“I thought of getting a driving licence would be a very difficult and lengthy procedure so I never even attempted to get one,” said Shahida Mahmood. “And my salt and pepper hair helped me in getting away without a licence. The traffic police is mostly focused on stopping youngsters to check their papers, etc., not an aging person and certainly not women,” she smiled.
“Believe me I intended getting a driving licence, I really did. But then when I reached the licence issuing branch I felt a bit overwhelmed thinking of what was in store for me there. That was when I was approached by this fellow, an agent, who said he can get it done for me easily. He said he knew the people inside and it would be no problem at all for him. From then onwards he would go inside and come back with demands for money and more money. He said the demands were from the officers inside. Getting my licence made this way cost me a small fortune but it got done finally. And the fellow didn’t want anything for himself. He only said ‘Sahib, aap ki jo bhi khushi ho aap de do’ (pay me whatever you feel like paying me),” said Ajab Dad Khan. “Now someone has pointed out that my licence may be fake and I don’t want to go to jail,” he added.