Lockdown to haunt RTO registration on Akshay Tritiya

24/4/2020

PUNE: For the first time, there will be no registration of vehicles at Pune Regional Transport office (RTO) on Akshay Tritiya, which falls on April 26. Only a few vehicles were registered on auspicious Gudi Padwa last month.

"With everything closed, there will be no registration of vehicles on the auspicious day. This will happen for the first time here. The situation is expected to continue till May. Even if the lockdown is partially eased in Pune after May 3, we do not expect a major spurt in revenue in terms of new vehicle registrations, which have completely stopped from April 1," said a RTO official.

Generally, the number of registrations spike a week before Gudi Padwa, with people preferring to bring home new vehicles on the day of the festival. "Currently, the RTOs in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad are providing permission to vehicles carrying goods. As many as 8,950 vehicles have been provided online permits to ply. Passes have been provided to 3,523 vehicles in Pune and 5,400 vehicles in Pimpri Chinchwad," another RTO official said.

The official said that some registrations had taken place during Gudi Padwa last month. "But we are yet to calculate the figures. At present, all work related to registrations, licensing and issuance of permits has stopped," the official said. Last year, the registration of vehicles during Akshay Tritiya was decent but far less compared to 2018.

Earlier, Virmeet Singh Maini, president, Pune auto dealers’ association, said that with all the showrooms shut, the sector had been hit the worst. Another two-wheeler dealer said, "Though we have received many queries, but we don’t think people will start buying once the lockdown ends."