Patna: Inspired by the transport department issuing driving licences to the differently abled last month, the Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf has approached the department to get licences for its members.

The department spoke to officials of the ministry of road transport and highways which gave a nod. The department has started the process of issuing driving licences to the hearing impaired.

Transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said: "A few days back, the people from Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf approached us demanding driving licence after which we contacted the ministry who said we could issue the licence applying some provisions."

For the first time, the department last month issued seven learning licences apart from the first vehicle registration cards to differently abled people. They also got tax exemption of 7 per cent on purchase of two- and four-wheelers.

Mohammad Athar Ali, general secretary, Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf, Patna, which is affiliated to the All India Sports Council of the Deaf, New Delhi, met Agarwal demanding driving licence for its members.

On how the hearing impaired would hear the horn on roads, Agarwal said: "In Patna, there is a culture of using horns but technically it is not a part of driving. Driving is primarily a visual function with little inputs from hearing. Many developed countries give hearing impaired people the privilege of driving. If a person is rehabilitated with hearing amplification and can hear reasonably with the same then there seems no reason to deprive him or her of a driving licence."

Agarwal stressed that whoever passes the driving test will get the licence and the department has already started the process and tomorrow a formal order will be issued by the transport department. At present, 10 people have met the secretary who is a member of the Bihar Sports Council of the Deaf and some are already driving the vehicles.

He, however, stressed that there would be some modification in the vehicle by which the others would come to know that the perosn behind the wheels is hearing impaired.

"As a precaution, we will ask them to display on the vehicles a sign indicating that the driver is hearing impaired. However, all such people have to pass a stringent driving test under actual road conditions just like normal individuals," Agarwal said.