THE STATE’S first Driving Training School and Research Centre will be set up in Kanpur. The Government of India has already given Rs 1 crore to the Transport Department for the Rs 5.38 crore hi-tech project, the first phase of which will be completed by March next.
The objective of setting up the project is to train drivers, properly with the help of simulators as well as actual road trials, to reduce the growing number of road accidents.
The school, which will also have boarding facility for 400 trainees, will impart training in driving to all those operating light/ medium/ heavy vehicles. Experts will impart both practical and theoretical training to the drivers. The school will run courses of various durations and written and practical exams will be held at the end of each course.
The project, which has been pending for the last 2-3 years, could take off only after the Transport Department succeeded in arranging the land for setting up the institute. When the efforts of getting the 15 acres of land in the State Capital did not materialize, it was UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) which agreed to convert its own training school in Kanpur into the Driving Training School and Research Centre.
As per the scheme, while the Centre will give 70 of the grant to the Transport Department, the State Government will have to bear the 30 of the remaining cost of the project. The Centre released Rs 1 crore to the Transport Department, which in turn handed over the amount to the UPSRTC.
{{/usCountry}}As per the scheme, while the Centre will give 70 of the grant to the Transport Department, the State Government will have to bear the 30 of the remaining cost of the project. The Centre released Rs 1 crore to the Transport Department, which in turn handed over the amount to the UPSRTC.
{{/usCountry}}“Yes, we have got the money only recently and have to spend it by the end of the current fiscal. Only then the next installment will be released,” said UPSRTC managing director, Shankar Agrawal. He said the proposed school would help train drivers, especially those of the Roadways. The number of road accidents would also come down, he added.
Out of Rs 1 crore as much as 50 lakh will be spent on the purchase of a simulator which the UPSRTC would procure shortly. Rest of the amount will go on renovation of eight classrooms (to begin with) and laying tracks, and purchasing some training vehicles.
Transport Department’s finance controller, Prabhu Dayal said in the time to come it might be compulsory for one to undergo training at the government’s driving training school before getting a driving licence from a regional transport authority. He said the school would also be responsible for conducting new researches in the field of driving and automobile.
UPSRTC general manager (Personnel) AK Dua said the corporation had demanded that the proposed driving school be authorized to issue driving licenses too.