LUCKNOW, May 21 -- The Regional Transport Offices in the state have not registered any water vehicle in the state yet. As per the Inland Water Vessels Act, 2021, the work of registering, tracking and monitoring water vehicles like motor boats and fishing vessels was to be taken up by the RTOs. Eleven of the country's 111 waterways flow through UP. Currently, the state does not have any record of the number of water vessels operating in its 11 waterways, which include the Ganga, Saryu, Betwa, Chambal and Yamuna. In September, last year, the Lucknow RTO office had said that a centralised portal for the registrations of boats would be launched in October 2024. However, it appears that the RTO is yet to finalise the parameters to declare water vessels fit to operate, and thus, ready for registration. Further, while it is certain that the water vessels' management wing of the RTO will have separate offices, only the land for the same has been identified thus far. Radheshyam, deputy transport commissioner said, "The original list of fitness requirements were found to be inadequate by marine engineers, when it was sent for review. The list was improved and sent again for review. Once we receive approval on the new list from the state and the Inland Waterways Authority of India, we can say with some certainty when the RTO can start registering water vessels." He also said that the RTO has secured marine engineering experts who will be offering their services for free, in inspecting and monitoring the registered water vessels. Radhshyam added, "As of now, even the wooden boats used for fishing are being monitored by district level bodies like the municipal corporations, with no guidelines or fitness checks." Sanjay Jha, an RTO officer, Lucknow, then, who was overseeing the process in Lucknow when it was announced in September 2024, said, "The top boss of the waterways authority of the state will be the transport commissioner himself. When the new registration process is in place, the scope of the body will be expanded with technical and other experts, along with the dedicated office designated to us."...