Staff Reporter :
Dhaka District Four-Stroke Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association has given a call for 24 hours’ strike in the city from Sunday’s 6 a.m. to Monday’s 6 a.m. to realize their seven points demand.
The announcement came from a conference held in the city on Saturday. President of the Drivers’ Association
Muhammad Rafiq presided over the meeting where their demands were discussed.
The demands are that the drivers should not be punished for ‘trivial matters’, all its members now in jail should be released, no penalty should be imposed on the drivers for parking violations and 5,000 CNG auto-rickshaws should be distributed among the drivers.
Earlier, the association’s Office Secretary Md Abu Wahab said, “Many drivers are regularly punished by BRTA Mobile Courts though there is no such provision in Traffic rule.”
“The Mobile Courts are also harassing the drivers almost everyday on the pretext of parking violation,” he said.
The association also decided to submit memoranda to the Transport Ministry, the BRTA and the DMP Commissioner, demanding an end to this “harassment”.
The BRTA by its Mobile Courts has launched a drive to stop auto-rickshaw drivers from overcharging the passengers. The drive has been launched following complaints that auto-rickshaw drivers were not adhering to the new fare structure fixed by the authority.
Admitting that drivers often overcharged the passengers, Abu Wahab said it was because they were compelled to deposit Tk 1,400-1,500 to the vehicle owners though as per government rate they were supposed to pay Tk 900 only per day.
Dhaka District Four-Stroke Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association has given a call for 24 hours’ strike in the city from Sunday’s 6 a.m. to Monday’s 6 a.m. to realize their seven points demand.
The announcement came from a conference held in the city on Saturday. President of the Drivers’ Association
Muhammad Rafiq presided over the meeting where their demands were discussed.
The demands are that the drivers should not be punished for ‘trivial matters’, all its members now in jail should be released, no penalty should be imposed on the drivers for parking violations and 5,000 CNG auto-rickshaws should be distributed among the drivers.
Earlier, the association’s Office Secretary Md Abu Wahab said, “Many drivers are regularly punished by BRTA Mobile Courts though there is no such provision in Traffic rule.”
“The Mobile Courts are also harassing the drivers almost everyday on the pretext of parking violation,” he said.
The association also decided to submit memoranda to the Transport Ministry, the BRTA and the DMP Commissioner, demanding an end to this “harassment”.
The BRTA by its Mobile Courts has launched a drive to stop auto-rickshaw drivers from overcharging the passengers. The drive has been launched following complaints that auto-rickshaw drivers were not adhering to the new fare structure fixed by the authority.
Admitting that drivers often overcharged the passengers, Abu Wahab said it was because they were compelled to deposit Tk 1,400-1,500 to the vehicle owners though as per government rate they were supposed to pay Tk 900 only per day.
