With Eid-ul-Fitr drawing near, repair work on old buses is going on in full swing at various garages in Savar. While many vehicles are getting new paint and body repairs, mechanics say the engines of many buses are being kept running through temporary fixes.
“Why focus on painting first? Fix the engine, otherwise you’ll end up celebrating Eid on the road,” engine mechanic Mizanur Rahman was heard warning a transport worker.
Speaking at his workplace, Monowara Automobiles in Savar, Rahman said bus owners are crowding garages ahead of Eid. In many cases, he added, owners prioritize improving the external appearance of vehicles with paint and body repairs, while major engine problems are often ignored.
“Original parts for older bus models are very expensive. So, owners often have cheaper alternative parts made on lathe machines and install those instead, which can be risky,” he said.
Visits to several garages across Savar showed that many rundown buses are being repaired in preparation for the Eid rush. At garages in Aminbazar, Baliapur and Rajfulbaria, workers were seen repainting old buses, fixing damaged bodies and making temporary engine repairs to make them roadworthy.
Muslem Uddin, a driver of an old bus, dismissed concerns about safety risks. “A bus never becomes old. With a little repair, it can keep running,” he claimed.
Asked whether original spare parts are available, he said, “All parts are not available, but those that are available are expensive. So, sometimes we have to make alternatives at a lathe workshop.”
Transport insiders say many of these aging buses normally operate on short-distance routes, but are deployed on long-distance services during the Eid travel. They typically begin returning to the roads from the last week of Ramadan.
Such buses often break down midway during journeys, causing suffering for passengers and traffic congestion. In some cases, they also increase the risk of road accidents.
However, neither the Savar office of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority nor the local administration has specific statistics on the number of risky or unfit vehicles.
Leaders of ‘Nirapad Sarak Chai’ say reducing accidents will be difficult unless such vehicles are taken off the roads. Nahid Islam, a central leader of the organization, said, “If these vehicles are not stopped, the roads will never become safe. Because of them, lives are lost and the death toll keeps rising.”
Highway Police, however, say monitoring will be strengthened to prevent unfit vehicles from operating during the Eid travel.
Sheikh Shahjahan, Officer-in-Charge of Savar Highway Police Station, said, “Strict monitoring is in place to ensure no unfit vehicles operate during Eid travel. Legal action will be taken against those who would violate the laws.”
