Website hiccups irk licence seekers

PUNE: Frequent hiccups in Sarathi website used for online submission of driving licence forms has irked applicants who are struggling to book a slot to appear for the tests.
Applicants complained that the site - sarathi.nic.in - is not functioning smoothly for more than 20 days now. They are not able to open, download and upload the application forms and have to spend hours in front of the computer to complete the process.
Sandip Patade was amongst the many who could not book a slot on Monday morning."The website continued to display 'access denied' message through all my attempts," he said.
Rahul Jori too has been facing similar problem for over a week. "The website doesn't open. If it does, I am not able to download the form. The website also does not offer an off-line option to fill or upload the form. This is annoying and needs to be rectified at the earliest," Jori said.
The common problems applicants face pertain to opening of the site, downloading and uploading forms and booking an appointment. Besides, the applicants complained that the site crashes frequently and is too slow to function. They say the system is not user-friendly.
Motor driving schools have backed the applicants. They said the problem persists across the state and has not been resolved even after repeated follow ups. The school owners complained that the online system was introduced a couple of years back, but it has failed to deliver expected results.
"A significant numbers of applicants are not able to book their slots every day. It has been two years now, but the issue has not been addressed so far. It seems the server's strength is weak. We want the transport department to provide a separate server at every RTO in Pune-Mumbai-Thane regions," said Raju Ghatole of the Maharashtra State Motor Driving School Association.
Dnyaneshwar Waghole, executive president of the association, said this is not the first time the website has developed a snag. The transport department claimed that online system was introduced to minimize hurdles and waiting time, but the results have been negative, he said.