Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Hundreds of old, faulty and unfit buses are getting ready for plying on roads to carry homebound people ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, sources said.
They alleged that owners of these unfit vehicles will put them on the roads to cope with the influx of passengers before and after the Eid festival.
Repairs to the unfit passenger buses are going on in various garages and workshops located in the capital and its outskirts under the very nose of the authorities concerned.
Visiting to some of these workshops, it was found that so-called mechanics and painters are working round the clock to give a facelift to old and worn-out vehicles to lure the passengers.
A man at a workshop in the capital’s Syedabad told The New Nation yesterday that they are now busy to repair the ramshackle vehicles which will be delivered to their owners before July 1.
“Like previous year, unfit vehicles are set to ply on the roads again. It may lead to accidents and create tailbacks on highways,” Elias Kanchan, Chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai, told The New Nation on Monday.
He urged the government to take necessary steps to stop plying unfit vehicles on roads considering the road safety issue.
Kanchan also suggested the authorities of Bangladesh Road Transport authority (BRTA) to keep vigil on the roads so that unfit buses cannot ply there.
“We are aware about the matter and unfit vehicles would be barred to ply on roads,” Nazrul Islam, Chairman of BRTA, told The New Nation on Sunday night.
He said they would conduct mobile court to check unfit vehicles and reckless driving during the Eid rush hour.
The BRTA Chairman also said that vigilance teams will work in the city’s bus terminals, including Sayedabad, Mohakhali and Gabtoli, to check fitness and route permits of the long-haul buses in an attempt to ensure safe journey of the homebound passengers.
It is estimated that about 70 lakh people will leave the capital on different modes of transports to celebrate this year Eid-ul-Fitr with their family and friends at their hometown and villages.
The government earlier announced a nine day Eid vacation (including weekly holiday) beginning from July 1.
Sources said ramshackle launches are also getting ready for carrying home bound passengers in different waterways in the country.
