Jamshedpur, June 4: Four lakh vehicles ply in East Singhbhum, with Jamshedpur playing host to the largest number of wheels.

But district transport officer (DTO) Shivendu Singh can spare only two days for the steel city.

The Sakchi-based computerised district transport office looks sleek. But looks can deceive. Although Singh has a seven-member clerical staff in Jamshedpur, only he can give the final go-ahead on critical issues like registration of vehicles and present addresses and licences. Work comes to a standstill till he arrives on Thursdays and Fridays.

But Singh is not to blame. Posted in Ranchi, Singh is entrusted with the additional charge of Jamshedpur.

But for disgruntled residents here, that is no excuse.

Take Sanjay Kumar Verma (name changed), a Jamshedpur boy who studies engineering in Bangalore. Verma, who wanted a driving licence for a new two-wheeler in Bangalore, is yet to receive one despite completing all formalities. “I did not want to spend extra money to get my licence. There is no headway. Had the DTO been available throughout the week, I could have approached him directly,” said Verma.

A small transporter, Mahendra Singh, has not been able to get his vehicle registered because he wasn’t free when the DTO was available.

“My dumper is lying idle because it is not yet registered. If I run it, the vehicle can be seized by the Mobile Enforcement,” said the transporter.

Most people work around the problem by approaching vendors who work as unofficial subsidiaries of the transport office, but for a fee.

Shivendu Kumar Singh admitted that there should be a separate district transport office for East Singhbhum with a busy city like Jamshedpur.

However, he denied charges of inefficiency. “My work here is flawless. I have also made new records in revenue collection,”said Singh.