Government will be introducing a new decentralized programme to ease the heavy congestion of persons visiting the National Transport Medical Institute in Nugegoda for medical tests in order to get their driving licences, Passenger Transport Management Ministry said.
The institute is a place which is regularly crowded on any day of the week, with people even from far away areas coming in to get their medical certification to obtain their driving licence.
This situation has now come to a point where some driving licence applicants are getting into arguments and quarrels with the doctors.
Under these circumstances, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has directed the Passenger Transport Management Ministry Secretary to explore the possibility of establishing regional transport medical institutions for the benefit rural applicants for driving licences.
Th4ese regional centres will examine and issue certificates of physical and mental fitness to driving licence applicants of all types of vehicles including heavy vehicles.
Arrangement have been made to set up three sub regional transport medical institutes in Avissawella for the benefit of applicants in Ratnapura, Nuwareliya ,and Bandarawela ,another one in Dambulla and Negambo.
Dambulla and Negambo transport medical sub institutes will be beneficial for the driving licence applicants in North, Eastern and North Central Provinces as well as North Western Province and Gampaha areas.
Another office will be established in Anuradhapura with facilities to print and issue driving licences, Passenger Transport Management Ministry said.
(LI)