IMPOUNDED TRICYCLES & BUSES WOULD BE PARKED SEVEN DAYS WITHOUT OPTION OF FINE — ARTMA

REPORTER: UCHE NEDEKE

Reckless driving by some tricycle operators has continued to pose serious challenge to traffic decongestion efforts in Anambra State.

To this end, the Anambra State Road Traffic Maintenance Agency, (ARTMA) says it is devising stringent measures to put the operators into check for free flow of traffic during and after the festive period.

The General Manger of the Agency, Mr. Chidi Umezinwa, stated this in an interview with Radio Nigeria in Awka.

Mr. Umezinwa expressed regrett that the high number of the operators and absence of an umbrella body for them had continued to pose serious hindrance to the effort by the government to ensure traffic free roads.

According to Mr. Umezinwa, ARTMA in the past had been impounding and issuing fines to the tricycle operators, which they paid with ease and returned to blocking the roads without recourse to other road users.

The ARTMA General Manager said henceforth, impounded tricycles and buses would be parked for seven days without any option of fine.

Mr. Umezinwa, while Commending governor Chukwuma Soludo for providing the agency with needed utilities, including tow trucks, said efforts were on to provide commuters with parking spaces in strategic locations across the state to help decongest the roads.

He said mobile monitors and supervisors had been deployed to ensure that personnel of the Anambra State Road Traffic Maintenance Agency did not involve themselves in sharp practices that would undermine the innovations introduced by the its leadership.

Mr. Umezinwa warned his personnel to avoid conniving with transporters to load and discharge passengers at unauthorized places as anyone caught would be dismissed.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU