RTO to dispose of seized vehicles

KOCHI: The process is on to dispose of 56 unclaimed vehicles seized by various departments at the civil station here. This is as part of the arrangements being made for the Chief Minister’s public interaction programme to be held on November 19. “About 56 vehicles will be shifted from the place. It is being done to make arrangements for about 25 stalls which will be built to receive complaints from the people at the public interaction programme,” said RTO T J Thomas. Thomas said the presence of vehicles there is creating a security risk for the VIPs attending various programmes there.“Most of these vehicles were lying too close to the stage posing security risks. The bomb squad came to inspect the site during the inauguration of the new District Planning Committee meeting last month and asked us to remove these vehicles. However, it was not done then as the stage was already built. The function was inaugurated by the Chief Minister,” he said.  Most of these vehicles have completely falling to pieces and cannot be moved without using a crane. “As the stage was already set, it was not possible to lift these vehicles using cranes and we had to leave it there. This time we did not want to commit the same mistake,” he added.Thomas said most of the vehicles confiscated years ago are difficult to shift as they are stuck on the ground. “Most of these vehicles are out of use as they were detained years ago. Hence, we are using cranes to lift them,” he said.He also added that the vehicles cannot be auctioned as they are still awaiting a nod from the departments concerned. “Most of these vehicles were seized from various places outside the district. We should get the permission from the departments concerned to auction them. We have completed all the procedures in this respect, Thomas said. Of these 56 vehicles, ten are light motor vehicles (LMVs).