TNI Bureau: The Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress staged a protest against what it described as arbitrary fines and a flawed pollution certificate (PUC) policy imposed on vehicle owners. The protest was led by State Youth Congress President Ranjit Patra, who spearheaded a bicycle rally to gherao the official residence of Transport Minister Bibhuti Jena.

Youth Congress workers began their bicycle march from the Congress Bhavan and proceeded towards the minister’s residence. However, police stopped the protesters near the residence, leading to a brief scuffle between the police and the demonstrators. Subsequently, several Youth Congress workers were detained and taken away in police vans.

Addressing the media, Ranjit Patra alleged that the Mohan government had put in place a system to “financially exploit vehicle drivers” through excessive and unjust fines. He claimed that the scale and manner of penalties surpassed even the most oppressive policies of colonial-era administrations. According to him, the Transport Minister had effectively taken responsibility for extracting revenue by “strangling drivers economically”.

Patra said that drivers across Odisha, from twowheeler owners to truck and bus operators, were facing severe hardship. He alleged that in some cases, four-wheelers passing through multiple toll gates in a single day were being subjected to fines running into lakhs of rupees, while penalties for two-wheelers often exceeded the value of the vehicles themselves. He also accused the government of failing to clearly inform drivers about violations that attract fines.

The Youth Congress further opposed linking fines directly to pollution certificates, terming the practice illegal. The organisation demanded simplification of the PUC system and a review of what it called the government’s “excessive fine regime”. It urged the state to refrain from harassing drivers in the name of revenue collection.

Highlighting pollution concerns, Patra said the government should investigate why cities such as Talcher, Angul, Baripada, Balasore, Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Jajpur have featured among the most polluted urban areas in the country, and take action against industries responsible for environmental degradation instead of penalising ordinary vehicle owners.

Warning of intensified agitation, the Youth Congress said it would stage protests in front of all Regional Transport Office (RTO) offices across Odisha if the government did not withdraw what it termed arbitrary fines and correct the flawed pollution policy.

Several Youth Congress leaders and workers, including Manoj Biswal, Yasir Nawaz, Sudip Samal, Abhijit Jena, Gopan Martha, Shiv Agrawal, Kiran Sahu, Mohammed Gulfam, Alok Das, Ajay Sahu, Batakrishna Routray and others, participated in the protest.