Unfit vehicle removal drives to begin July 1 after missed deadline

The government is going to take a firm stance on its decision to remove unfit and age-old buses and trucks from Dhaka streets after missing the earlier deadline of May, instructing all the relevant authorities to begin drives on July 1.

Rail, Road and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan cleared the government's stand on the removal of all unfit buses during a meeting held at Bidyut Bhaban in the capital on Sunday.

However, sources said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) expressed their inability to carry out drives, saying there are not enough dumping grounds in and around the city.

The Road Transport and Highways Division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges had called the meeting to seek opinions on modernising the Gazipur-Bahadurshah bus route and the transport sector's overall development.

Chaired by the adviser, the meeting was also attended by Special Assistant to the Ministry of Home Affairs Mohammad Khoda Boksh Chowdhury, Special Assistant on Road Transport and Bridges Sheikh Moinuddin, and Special Assistant to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb.

Other heads of the related government agencies, including the chairmen of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), and Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA); the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority executive director; additional police commissioner (traffic); and project directors, were also present.

The leaders of various road transport owners' associations, including Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and Saiful Ahmed, attended the meeting as well.

Meeting sources said before discussing the new route modernisation, the adviser asked about the preparations for removing the expired vehicles and said the missed deadline is not a good sign for the government.

Transport leaders requested the adviser to consider a vehicle's BRTA registration date rather than its economic lifespan while determining its service life.

They said this should be done as these vehicles are reconditioned. But the adviser rejected the proposal.

"It is already decided that we will withdraw all expired vehicles. We gave directives at the meeting, where leaders of transport owners' associations were present, to ready dumping grounds by the end of the current month," the adviser told The Financial Express over the phone after the meeting.

The interim government announced the withdrawal of old buses and trucks from the city during a meeting on Dec 19 last year.

smunima@yahoo.com