Gurgaon: Residents of Manesar and other outlying areas will soon have easier access to traffic challan payment facilities, with two new centres set to open at the DCP office in Manesar and at Sector 5 police station by the end of this month.The move aims to reduce the need for residents living on the city’s expanding outskirts to travel to the existing facility at the traffic police building in Sector 28. Additional staff will also be deployed at the two new centres to ease pressure on the existing facility.At the existing centre, the token system has also been discontinued and the number of payment windows increased from one to seven on Wednesday. Earlier, motorists had to reach the Sector 28 facility as early as 8am to obtain a token, with around 50 challans cleared in a day when only one window was operational, a traffic police officer said.The additional windows have helped speed up payments. Despite a heavy rush at the centre on Wednesday, motorists were able to clear their fines in less time.However, payment modes remain a challenge for some motorists. One visitor said he had to spend an additional half an hour arranging funds online after being told that cash would not be accepted. “I had waited in the queue for my turn and had cash to pay the fine, but the staff at the counter refused to accept it. It took me another half an hour to arrange the money online. I gave cash to a cab driver and asked him to transfer the amount to my account, following which I paid the Rs 14,000 fine,” he told TOI.The expansion comes as traffic police plan more intensive enforcement drives, particularly against vehicles plying without number plates and those parked in violation of rules. Police said additional payment facilities would help manage the expected increase in challans and make it easier for violators to settle their fines.“Traffic violators should not be treated as criminals, but they need to learn their lesson,” a traffic police officer said, stressing the need to balance enforcement with public convenience.DCP (traffic) Hitesh Yadav said, “Capacity building for public convenience is a regular exercise that requires timely updation. The proposed new challaning branches, along with the additional payment windows, are examples of our efforts to deliver citizen services in the best possible manner.”
