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Vehicle owners panicked as random requisition goes on

KAUSAR ISLAM AYON
Random requisition of buses, microbuses and pick-ups by the traffic department of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have panicked vehicle owners ahead of the 13th Saarc Summit.
According to DMP sources the authorities require more than 550 buses and about 700 micro-buses and pick-ups to be utilised by various departments during the summit.
As such, owners of such vehicles refrain from bringing their vehicles on the streets.
“We need our vehicles for personal use and we face a lot of troubles in absence of vehicles. The traffic sergeants seize the papers of the vehicle and order us to submit the vehicle at the Razarbagh Police Line by midnight,” said Dipu Ahmed owner of a microbus.
“It is not a question of giving the vehicle that matters, but the after effects of its use that costs more. We have to spend quite a lot on repairs on vehicles requisitioned,” he said.
DMP officials said that out of the total requirement only 50 percent is requisitioned while the rest is rented.
“We have already rented 200 buses and 300 micro-buses and pick-ups. The rest will be filled up through regular requisitions,” said Zahurul Haque, traffic inspector-1 of DMP.
Although the officials of the DMP said they have rented the vehicles they are not sure when the payments would be made to the vehicle owners.
“We rented many vehicles when the last two summits were scheduled. The summits were cancelled but we could not make any payment to the companies that rented out their vehicles,” admitted an official of the traffic department.
He mentioned that the amount due as rent for vehicles utilised for two
postponed schedules is Tk. 14 lakh.
“The companies that rented the vehicles are pressing us for payment. We have not been allotted with any funds for such payments and many of them have refused to rent out their vehicles,” said the DMP official. “Payment this time too, is also uncertain,” he added.
With security beefed-up for Saarc summit, the number of required vehicles has also increased and the payment for rents will also increase by 50 percent.
Owners of vehicles are left helpless as they are compelled to hand over requisitioned vehicles or give them on rent according to DMP provision 103 Ka (1).
“We have already given 146 buses and have for payment. Although the DMP has accepted the offer, no rate has been fixed yet,” said Saiful Alam, general secretary, Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity.
He said that the association has asked the DMP to pay a minimum of Tk. 2,500 to 3,000 for each bus. But DMP has not yet agreed to rate nor have they quoted a figure.
According to DMP sources and vehicle owners, the DMP owes more than Tk 100 crore as rents and compensation for vehicles requisitioned from different private and government organisations in the last 30 years.
The High Court last year ordered DMP not to requisition private cars but the traffic department has paid no heed to such order.
“We need many vehicles and the demand cannot be met by company or state owned vehicles. We have no choice but to requisition a few private cars,” said another official of DMP traffic department.