India
75% of Kolhapur village homes share family number plates
The Indian Express·
In Prayag Chikhali, Kolhapur, sarpanch Rohit Patil said close to 75 percent of 1,900 households use family registration numbers over three decades. Shivtej Shankar Yadav plates eight vehicles with 0554. Deputy RTO Manoj Gajannan Otari said the office got 345 car special-number bids on one new series day. Residents spend Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 for chosen digits.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Buyers here book desired numbers before purchasing vehicles, adding Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 fees.
- Matching mobile suffixes now mirror plate digits, tying contact numbers to the same family code.
- Highest bidders win contested digits when multiple demand drafts arrive for one slot.
What's Happening
- Pandurang Yadav began the 7777 pattern in 1990, neighbours followed, and Patil uses 3500 on three vehicles.
- Dalvi joint family fields eleven vehicles sharing 8282 across twenty-five members.
- Deputy RTO Manoj Gajannan Otari said Kolhapur registrations start with MH09, making nines popular.
Cost of custom MH09 plates
- Special numbers are auctioned via demand drafts opened in bidders' presence for transparency.
- Sanjeev Bhor contrasted city demand for digits like 1 or 1000 with Chikhali's inherited codes.
- The village of about 10,000 sits in Kolhapur district where singer Suresh Wadkar also hails from.
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