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Between helmet and fuel, two-wheeler riders in the State may not have much to choose, if a suitably packaged proposal were to find its way into statute books.
The State Government is considering making it mandatory for riders to sport a helmet to ensure their fills at fuel outlets.
SURPRISE CHECKS
Such a stipulation is already in force in certain States, said Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, home minister, while replying to a submission in the State Assembly.
Moving the submission, an Opposition member had said that surprise checks by the police who wave down speeding motorists at roundabouts and turn-ins had triggered several fatal accidents.
“Policemen often resort to pouncing upon unsuspecting motorists and resort to uncivilised methods of scrutiny and checks,” he said.
In his reply, the minister told the member that these checks were necessitated thanks to dangerous overspeeding, drunken driving, phone calls on the go and other forbidden acts while driving.
CIVILISED METHODS
He promised that he would direct the police to behave in a civilised manner while checking vehicles.
K.P. Mohanan, minister for agriculture, said the State Government was not averse to granting more concessions on interest payable on agricultural loans to help farmers tide over drought crisis.
Two consecutive monsoon failures had aggravated the crisis, leading to not just water scarcity but intrusion of saline water and crop failure in large parts of the State.
FARM LOANS
The State Government has declared a one-year moratorium on recovery of farm loans. It also proposed to introduce a one-time waiver interest on outstanding farm loans.
The Budget proposal to extend interest-free loans to small and marginal farmers was another intervention to minimise the impact of the drought on the farm sector.
The State expected to get a liberal package of drought relief from the Centre based on the assessment of a fact-finding mission now touring the State.
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