Staff Reporter :The government has banned movement of auto-rickshaws and non-motorised vehicles on the highways across the country from today (Saturday).Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in association with the law enforcers will launch joint drives on highways tomorrow (Sunday) to stop plying of auto-rickshaws and non-motorised vehicles. District administrations all over the country will also cooperate with the BRTA during the drive. “Seeking cooperation we have already sent letters to the all deputy commissioners’ offices. Besides, the BRTA will launch mobile court drive with its five executive magistrates,” a BRTA official said. Amid sharp rise in road fatalities, the government on July 27 imposed a ban on the movement of three-wheeler auto-rickshaws and non-motorised vehicles on highways across the country with effect from August 1. The Roads Transport and Highways Division of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges issued a gazette notification in this connection on July 27. The government has slapped the ban on plying of auto-rickshaws, including CNG-run ones, on national highways to reduce incidence of road accidents. “Auto-rickshaws ply on the highways randomly. These vehicles are getting involved in accidents quite frequently. So, we have taken a decision to ban them from plying on the national highways,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said. The decision to ban plying of auto-rickshaws was taken after taking into account the frequent accidents involving heavier vehicles resulting in deaths of many human lives in recent times.Meanwhile, plying of battery-run auto-rickshaws and Nasimon-Karimon-Bhotboti (human haulers) has been reduced on the highways due to the initiatives taken by the government, but the CNG-run auto-rickshaws have become a new problem. According to BRTA officials, auto-rickshaws on highways have become a new source of accidents. There were not too many of them in the past, but their numbers have increased, the official said, adding they have been involved in many accidents on various national highways.Transport leaders, over the past few years, have been demanding a ban on unregistered human haulers and CNG-run auto-rickshaws on the highways since they were primarily responsible for the accidents.
