The five automatic vehicle inspection centres, installed at a cost of Tk40 crore, have been non-functional for over 14 years due to lack of skilled operator and software glitches.
Since Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) set them up in 2000, the centres have never been used except for a test run.
The BRTA officials said they did not have the required technical hands to do so. Of the five centres, two are set up in Dhaka and the rest are in Rajshahi, Chittagong and Khulna.
Rajshahi BRTA officials alleged that the contractor and suppliers failed to hand over a fully functional facility to the authorities. They also blamed faulty installation of machinery at the centres.
The vehicle inspection centres were set up to check vehicles’ fitness by using automatic equipment including brake testers, alignment testers, smoke testers and under-chassis checkers, said Uttam Kumer Barua, deputy director of BRTA Rajshahi office.
“Once the automated system is operational, the huge burden of manually inspecting hundreds of vehicles will be lessened,” he said.
“However, the centres could not be used as the software provided by the Dutch company did not match our information software,” Uttam added.
Underscoring the need for activating the centres as soon as possible, Uttam Kumar said such automated inspection could curb road accidents and environmental pollution to a great extent.
“We need to appointment skilled technicians to operate the centres immediately,” he emphasized.
However, he told the Dhaka Tribune that the BRTA in 2008 signed a contract, under the public private partnership, to make the necessary changes to the centres and make them operational within 2013. But the initiative never saw light.