Staff Reporter :
Transport owners on Thursday started checking driving licences and registration certificates of the vehicles at bus terminals in the capital before allowing them to operate.
The vehicles, which could not show the necessary documents, were not allowed to run on the road. As a result, the vehicles are limited on the road.
Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association (DRTOA) was checking licences and other documents as per its earlier announcement in this regard on Wednesday.
The checking was going on at 12 spots in the city from yesterday, said DRTOA President Abul Kalam said.
Representatives of owners and workers were checking six documents-licence, blue book, tax token, fitness clearance, route permit and insurance, said Tariqul Islam, Office Secretary of Mohakhali Bus Terminal Owners’ Association.
At Mohakhali Bus Terminal, around 300 vehicles were checked since Thursday morning. Of them, 40 were found to have been operating with invalid papers, said Tariqul.
On the other hand, similar operation was also carried out at Saidabad bus terminal. Yesterday. They have been checked more than 100 buses and found only 30-40 buses without valid document.
Meanwhile, Abul Kalam claimed that 98 per cent papers of the buses at Mohakhali bus terminal are okay but that the problem lied with drivers’ licence.
He added, almost 70 per cent of the drivers at Mohakhali hold either light or medium vehicles’ licence, which is not eligible for driving buses. “They need licences to drive heavy vehicles.” This is causing a problem and it will be informed to the authorities concerned, said Kalam.
Earlier on Wednesday, General Secretary of DRTOA Enayet Ullah announced that representatives of the owners and workers would check documents of buses at Mohakhali and Saidabad bus terminals from Thursday and no vehicles would be allowed on streets without valid documents.
Meanwhile, the bus owners association yesterday cancelled membership of five bus companies for violating its decision to abolish the system of daily contracts with the bus drivers and their helpers, said Enayet Ullah.
The companies are: Azmeri, Skyline, DMK, Supravat and Gabtali-Sadarghat Paribahan (road number 7).
The five companies have operating more than 500 buses and mini-buses in Dhaka city.
