& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Plan for 5000 more CNG-run three-wheelers in limbo

Shahnaz Parveen
The government plan to add 5000 more CNG-run auto rickshaws to the current fleet in the city remains in Umbo as the drivers and owners associations stiU dispute some terms and condition of the registration process.
The communications ministry on November 8 last year approved the plan with a view to bringing down the existing chaos in the CNG autorickshaw sector and reducing sufferings of the commuters in the capital city.
Taking advantage of dillydallying with the issue the CNG-run three-wheelers continue to charge higher than the approved fare.
According to the plan the registration process of the new three-wheelers was supposed to begin within December 2007 and the vehicles were expected to hit the city streets by January this year. The registration however, is yet to begin even 5 months after the decision.
Previously it was decided that only drivers with valid driving licence will be allowed to participate in the allotment, which will be held through lottery to prevent any malpractice.
The new addition was supposed to increase the number of CNG auto rickshaws in the city to around 18, 000. Imported in private sector the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) was expected to provide registration for each three-wheeler.
The new lot of auto rickshaws will have yellow colour to make them distinctly different from the previous ones.
Md Golam Faruk, General Secretary, Dhaka District Autorickshaw, Auto-tempo, Mishuk Transport Workers Union said, “Some of the terms are unfair such as interested drivers were asked to submit a Tk. 20, 000 pay order with the application. This amount in addition to the price of the auto rickshaw is a lot of money for the poor drivers."
The marked price of a CNG auto rickshaw is now Tk 2, 62, 500. Uttara Motors is the lone importer of the vehicle.
It was also planned that the winners of the lottery would not be allowed to sell their vehicle or hand over the registration to someone else before operating it for three years.
The rule was introduced to prevent sell of the three-wheelers at a higher price after winning the lottery. Earlier, autorickshaws were sold at double the original price. Leasing or buying the vehicle in share is also not allowed.
“In case the new owner of the auto falls sick and needs money he should be allowed to sell the vehicle," Faruk added.
“Joint ownership also should be allowed. It will ease the money pressure on poor drivers", he said.
Owners on the other hand term the decision to register vehicles only against driving licence as unjust and a violation of the previous agreement they reached with the ministry and BRTA in 2002.
They are pressing the government to allot some of the new CNG-run three-wheelers to the owners who incurred loss due to the ban on two-stroke three-wheelers in 2001.
ATM Nazmul Hasan, general secretary, Dhaka City CNG Autorickshaw Owners' Association said, “Many owners were deprived of benefits when the government in 2001 phased out 31,500 two-stroke three-wheelers and introduced environment-friendly four-stroke ones"
“The government many times had promised that the deprived owners would be rehabilitated and the fresh lot of CNG autorickshaws would be allotted to those deprived owners, which, were never carried out”, he added.
BRTA authorities however, brushed aside the demand of the owners. Regarding the stand of the drivers the ministry has asked for the suggestions of BRTA.
Humayun Rashid Khalifa, director (operations) BRTA said, "We are reconsidering some of the terms and conditions of the current plan. BRTA sent its suggestions to the ministry. It now awaiting final approval"