Anisul Islam Noor :Despitsorkers? Faruk asked the government.The Auto-Rickshaw Sangram Parishad has also submitted memorandum to the Ministry of Road and Bridges and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).Meanwhile, there are widespread allegations that the CNG-run auto-rickshaws had been banned only to clearing the highways for giving transit to neighboring India. Abdul Kalam, a CNG-run three-wheeler driver, told alleged that the government had issued the ban with a view to clearing highways for the movement of 18-wheel and 22- wheel Indian heavy vehicles as part of transit. Both the government and the auto-rickshaw workers are firmed on their stand. Instead of banning, the workers demand, the road transport and bridges minister has to implement separate lane on the highways.The claimed that the livelihood of about half of a crore people are depended on the CNG-run auto-rickshaws that can not be banned on highways for some separate incidents.However, in some districts a good number of auto-rickshaws came out on the highways on the pretext of refueling at roadside filling stations,Ban defied while others got onto the roads taking advantage of poor police vigilance. Highway Police Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Mallick Fakhrul Islam claimed that police are keeping a close watch to make sure these vehicles stay off the highways. Law enforcers are either penalising the operators or forcing them to leave whenever they saw these vehicles on the highways, he added. Some 590 such vehicles have been fined and cases filed against 41 vehicles across the country from August 1 to 3 for operating on the highways, according to highway police.Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has claimed that the number of accidents on highways has dropped significantly in the last couple of days due to the ban.Though no protest meeting, demonstration or road blockade was reported yesterday, auto-rickshaw drivers and owners in some districts said they would launch tougher programmes soon protesting the ban.In the last three days, auto-rickshaw drivers and owners staged demonstrations, blocked highways and clashed with police in several districts, causing long tailbacks on highways and inflicting immense sufferings on passengers. Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary MAN Siddique had directed all deputy commissioners (DC) and superintendent of police (SP) across the country to strictly enforce the ban. “We hope the operation of such vehicles on highways will significantly come down within a few days,” he said.On July 27, Road Transport and Bridges Ministry issued the order, banning three-wheeler auto-rickshaws and other slow-moving and unfit vehicles on highways. The order came into effect from August 1.Meanwhile, leaders of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance at a meeting on Wednesday expressed concern over the ban, saying it was not a rightful decision to ban the vehicles without ensuring an alternative for the drivers and owners of the vehicles.Leaders of Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, National Awami Party (NAP) and Communist Kendra made the remarks. Our correspondents from different districts report that a good number of three-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, battery-run easy bikes and other low-speed vehicles plied on highways throughout the day yesterday. In Gazipur, dozens of auto-rickshaws operated on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway from Rajendrapur intersection under Sadar upazila to Jainabazar under Sreepur upazila.”Like the previous four days, I saw many CNG-run auto-rickshaws on the highway on Thursday. In fact, I traveled in one of those and faced no problem,” said Rabiul Islam, a resident of Gazipur Sadar.However, Mawna Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Helalul Islam claimed that no auto-rickshaw operated on the highway with passengers. Some came out for refueling.In Mymensingh, auto-rickshaws frequently shuttled between the district town and Trishal and Bhaluka using the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. In Cox’s Bazar, several hundred auto-rickshaws were seen plying the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway.Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police Shyamol Kumar Nath claimed that the drive against these vehicles on the highway was on. He, however, said that it was not possible to stop their movement in just one or two days. In Manikganj, CNG-run auto-rickshaws operated on the Dhaka-Aricha highway on the excuse of refueling.Besides, these vehicles operated on Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet and Sirajganj-Rajshahi highways, report our Comilla, Narsingdi, Natore and Pabna correspondents. On the other hand, certain contradictions and the government’s apathy to implementing decisions, has led to chaos on the highways. It has spoken of banning the easy-bike, but has not stopped imports of the vehicle. CNG-run auto-rickshaws are being registered freely, with a seal of ‘not to run on the highways’. Despite prohibitions, the Nasimon, Bhatbhati and Karimon vehicles are running on the highways, while the authorities turn a blind eye. There are over an estimated 1.3 million of these three types slow-moving vehicles on the highways.Transport expert Prof Shamsul Haque of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told The New Nation that slow-moving vehicles should have been evicted from the highways long ago for the sake of road safety.The ban must be enforced, but the authorities must ensure alternative means of transport for the commuters at first. Ironically, the government has approved registration of three-wheelers and human haulers. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), more than 231,000 registered and around 100,000 unregistered auto-rickshaws ply across the country. BRTA officials and different associations of transport owners and workers said, the number of unregistered Karimon, Nasimon and Bhatbhati will be around 10 lakh. Three-wheelers like Karimon, Nasimon and Bhatbhati were officially banned in a meeting of the National Road Safety Council in 2010.Bangladesh Passengers’ Welfare Association Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, however, said the government must be realistic. It should ensure alternative lanes for auto-rickshaws on highways.
