Staff Reporter :
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia on Tuesday said that no human hauler would be allowed to run on the streets of capital Dhaka.
“These types of vehicles create chaos on the streets and they are one of the main causes of road accidents,” he said this while addressing a press conference at DMP Media Centre organized for a month-long campaign beginning today (Wednesday) to bring discipline in the traffic management system.
He said that the human hauler (small passenger carrier), also locally known as Laguna, would not be allowed to ply on city streets henceforth.
The DMP chief also said no bus will be allowed to load and unload passengers anywhere without the designated 121 bus stoppages in the city.
Referring to traffic mismanagement on the roads and highways, he said, “It will take time to bring complete discipline in the traffic management as the current situation has not been created in a day rather it is the culmination of the long time mismanagement.”
Asaduzzaman Mia requested the city dwellers to use zebra crossings, footbridges and underpasses while crossing the roads.”
He also urged the owners of refueling stations not to sell fuel to motorcyclists having no safety helmets with them.
Calling Dhaka as ‘a city of rickshaws’, he said, “Rickshaws registered in other districts are coming to the city. That’s why traffic system turns horrific. We have already decided that rickshaws, which were not registered in Dhaka, would be seized.”
“Our goal is to establish a proper traffic system, reduce congestion and encourage people to follow the traffic rules through the special traffic programme during September,” he further said.
He added, “We will organise programmes to create awareness on the traffic system at different points in the city. At least 322 scout members will join forces in every phase of the programme.”
At least 626,000 cases have been filed against traffic offenders in the last one and a half years, and 99,000 offences were captured following video footages in the capital last year, according to the commissioner.
A committee led by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister is working to find ways to operate the buses in the capital through six companies and build infrastructure if needed.
Earlier this week, Rangpur Police announced a campaign called “No helmet, no petrol” in order to compel motorcyclists to wear helmets to prevent accidents.
