Srinagar, May 23 (KNO): The Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Kashmir has refuted recent reports circulating on social media claiming that driving tests would be skipped for issuing driving licenses and that private entities had been authorised to issue licenses.
RTO Kashmir, Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari, speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) termed these reports as "entirely baseless".
"There is no skip to driving tests for seeking a driving licence, and as of now, no private stakeholder has been authorised to issue driving licenses or conduct the driving test," the RTO Kashmir said.
In response to the concerns raised by applicants about the backlog of pending licenses, the RTO informed that around 1 lakh licenses have already been printed and were in the process of being dispatched by postal authorities.
"Currently, there would be a pendency of around 25% of driving licenses which are yet to be printed, over 1 lakh are already printed and it is the postal authorities who have to dispatch that," he added.
Notably, the rumours about changes in the driving license issuance process sparked considerable confusion among the public over the past few days.
The social media reports suggested that driving tests would be skipped and that private entities could issue licenses.
However, the RTO Kashmir firmly dispelled these claims, reiterating that the government remains the sole authority for issuing driving licenses in the region.
"This clarification aims to put an end to the misinformation and we assure the public that the established procedures for obtaining a driving license, including mandatory driving tests, remain unchanged," he said—(KNO)