SC directive: Police seize 50 'jugaad' vehicles in Bhagalpur

BHAGALPUR: The Bhagalpur police on Wednesday seized at least 50 vehicles in what is being seen as a crackdown on vehicles assembled locally using 'jugaad' technology.
Sources said these vehicles not only flout emission norms and cause air pollution but also violate the Motor Vehicles Act.
Bhagalpur SDO (civil) Roshan Kushwaha recently ordered a crackdown on such vehicles following a Supreme Court directive to this effect.
'Jugaad' refers to innovative, simplified solutions with meagre resources to make things work (often bending the rules).
Prompted by the philosophy, local engineering fabricators make vehicles using old spares, diesel generators and wooden planks for transporting goods.
A cheap mode of transportation, these vehicles are a common sight in Bhagalpur district. Handcart owners replaced their carts with 'jugaad gaadi'. Local businessmen also patronised such vehicles for cheap transportation of their goods. At many places, they are used for carrying passengers.
Sources in the transport department said the drive against these 'jugaad' vehicles would continue. "There is no official count of these illegal vehicles," said one official.
SSP Manoj Kumar said, "We are following the apex court's directive and the law of the land."
Meanwhile, the Eastern Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also expressed concern over the mushrooming of 'jugaad' vehicles.
It said in a statement a delegation would soon approach the civil administration to find a solution to the menace of 'jugaad' vehicles that are now being used also for transporting steel rods, cement, electronic goods, plywood, household commodities and building materials.