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35 more CNG filling stations by June

SOHEL ISLAM
Compressed natural gas (CNG) crisis in the city would ease with the installation of 35 more filling stations for CNG-run vehicles by the end of June this year.
State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources A K M Mosharraf Hossain gave this assurance while talking to The Daily Star.
"I know drivers of CNG vehicles and commuters are now facing problems due to a small number of filling stations. Their suffering will end with the setting up of new filling stations," he said.
Miseries of the drivers of four-stroke three-wheelers multiplied as three major CNG filling stations out of the 15 were closed recently.
Two of the stations -- one at Shewrapara and the other at Bijoy Sarani -- were 'closed temporarily,' sources said.
Shewrapara station is now undergoing repair and it might take a month to complete the work. With the expiry of lease of Bijoy Sarani SEE PAGE 11 COL 4 FROM PAGE 1
station this month, the Army Welfare Trust has not renewed the lease and closed the station till a further decision is taken in this regard.
The other one -- Southern Automobile Gas Station at Tejgaon--stopped service about 15 days ago. " We will not supply CNG to any four-stroke three-wheelers any more," said its Managing Director Monoranjan Bhakto.
He mentioned that a clash between drivers of CNG-run three wheelers and employees at the station left some equipment damaged a few days ago
"We have continued our service only for taxi cabs and other CNG vehicles," said Bhakto.
Mosharraf Hossain termed Bhakto's attitude 'very negative' and said, "I hope he would resume service for CNG three-wheelers immediately."
Meanwhile, in the past few days, long queues of vehicles were seen at different CNG stations. Some of the queues were two to three kiolmetres long.
" I cannot bear such suffering anymore and I cannot survive this way," grumbled Baset Ali, driver of a three-wheeler in a queue at a Banani filling station. "It is already 6 pm now and my entire day's income is only about Tk 350. I have to stop plying the vehicle after an hour and give its owner Tk 450 as daily deposit."
In utter frustration, her said, " I
have to wait five to six hours a day at a CNG filling station every day. I do not see an end to this. What shall I do in such a situation?"
Many other drivers narrated similar plight. And they appealed to the government to increase the number of gas stations without further delay.
Another problem of the drivers is that owners of three-wheelers are allegedly violating the government directive regarding the amount of daily deposit for the vehicles.
"As far as I know, no owner takes less than Tk 400 as daily deposit although the government-fixed amount is Tk 300," said Nurul Islam, a driver.
"We are being compelled to pay the increased amount as the owners threaten us that if we refuse to do so, they would engage other drivers," he said
The government in a circular had asked the owners to take Tk 300 as daily deposit and warned of stern action if they violated it. Route permit of vehicles will also be cancelled if the order is not complied with, the circular said.
A senior official of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority said, "Although we have asked drivers to lodge complaints against owners violating the government order, we have not received any complaint so far."