DMT's New 'Emission Eye' Photographs Smoky Vehicles — Fair Crackdown or Overreach?

From this month, DMT officers are stationed in major cities photographing vehicles that release visible smoke, and those photos alone are enough to issue a same-day maintenance order. Miss the repair deadline at the Werahera testing centre and you get blacklisted, which can block your revenue licence renewal or an ownership transfer until it's cleared. One side says this is overdue: Colombo's air is genuinely bad, old diesel lorries, buses and tuks have been smoking past every owner for years with zero consequence, and a photo-based system finally gives enforcement some teeth without a driver even stopping. The other side isn't convinced: a single photo from an officer is subjective evidence with no on-the-spot calibration, the people driving the smokiest old vehicles are usually the ones who can least afford a sudden repair bill, and bigger fleet polluters with better connections may dodge the camera entirely while individual owners get blacklisted. Has anyone actually received one of these maintenance orders yet? What did the repair cost you, and did Werahera clear you on the first visit or send you back? ඔයාගේ වාහනේටත් මේ 'Emission Eye' එකෙන් order එකක් ආවද? හරිද වැරදිද?