MVD to conduct driving tests on Saturday too

Thiruvananthapuram: With thousands of applicants still waiting for driving tests, the Motor Vehicles Department has decided to conduct the tests on Saturdays too. Meantime, the number of tests conducted per day has gradually increased in the last few days due to the large number of applicants.

The decision to conduct tests on Saturday was made after it was revealed that around 700 to 2000 learners licences were bound to expire on September 30 in various RT offices in the state. The driving tests weren’t carried out for months due to Covid restrictions.

Meanwhile, the Central Government has extended the deadline for learners license from February 2020 to September 30, 2021. It has also been suggested that the period should not be extended any further. However, due to a large number of applicants, many did not receive a date for the test before the deadline.

Only limited number of tests were initially conducted because of the need to comply with Covid rules. The test is currently held five days a week. This would be extended to six days a week including Saturdays.

When the tests resumed after the lockdown, around 60 tests were carried out under an RT office limit and this was later upgraded to 90 tests. Before the inception of Covid, the MVD used to conduct around 120 to 180 tests per day at a centre.