The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) yesterday conducted drives in the capital to send unfit vehicles off the road.
Several teams of the BRTA carried out the drives at Karwan Bazar, Airport, Arambagh and Mawa, said officials.
A total of 57 cases were filed against owners of unfit vehicles and Tk65,000 was realised as fine.
BRTA Executive Magistrate Debashish Nagh said: “The drive will continue and there is no way we can take unfit vehicles into consideration.”
According to the BRTA record, at least 3,00000 vehicles having no fitness certificates are plying the roads across the country.
Apart from BRTA teams two more DMP squads conducted the drives in front of the city’s Banani police box and Jatrabari to identify outdated vehicles on city roads.
DMP officials from the city’s Banani police box seized a dozen of buses during the drive.
Hundreds of passengers suffered as they had to step out of the buses during the drive.
Many passengers alleged that without any alternative measure such drives will only multiply sufferings of commuters.
Moreover, a few days later the same unfit vehicles will hit the street again, they said indignantly referring to several similar drives in the past that yielded no result at all.
Another passenger said the government should bring more BRTC buses to reduce public sufferings before such drives.
Executive Magistrate of DMP Mosiur Rahman said: “Our drive is not only against buses but also against all kinds of unfit vehicles. We have no other alternatives to mitigate people’s sufferings.”
A source in the BRTC said buses that were torched or damaged during the opposition-sponsored countrywide indefinite shutdown and blockade programme are yet to be repaired.
However, Road Transport and Highways Secretary MAN Siddique yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “Those BRTC buses have already been repaired and are ready to hit the street very soon.”
As for the public sufferings due to the drives he said: “We have nothing to do as the drive is being conducted on the instruction of the court,” he said apologetically.
According to the Jatri Kallayan Samity report the city demands at least 15,000 buses and mini buses.
BRTC sources said, at present, the BRTC at present operates a total of 1,532 buses across the country while the number is 400 in the capital.