Balasore, Nov. 4: The transport department has launched a special vehicle-checking drive from Sunday at the inter-state check gate in Laxmannath on Odisha-Bengal border.

About 2,000 vehicles pass through the check gate everyday.

Regional transport officer Amresh Patra said the exercise had been undertaken under the guidelines of central road safety committee headed by Justice Radhakrishnan.

"A penalty of Rs 1,000 has been imposed on violators for overloading goods. Besides, Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 are being charged for violation of transport rules. So far, about Rs 70 lakh has been collected," said Patra. "We expect that the amount may reach Rs 1.5 crore by Saturday," he said.

The checking is carried out to see if drivers have valid documents such as fitness certificate of vehicles, driving licence and pollution free certificate. Besides, it is also being verified whether the load is within permissible limits and they are not indulging in drunk driving.

The department has also made on-the-spot arrangement to rectify number plates and put retro -reflective tapes on either end of the vehicle with nominal charge.

About 20 officials pooled from other regional transport office of the state have been deployed.

The drive is being conducted to enforce traffic rules to prevent accidents and save the roads from damages, said an official.