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Cops go tough on street parking

Tk 1,000fine from today; 20 rules-breaker cars identified using video footage; bus owners want left lane

Mukhlesur Rahman
The DMP authorities will fine private car owners Tk 1,000 from today if they park their vehicles on streets.
The decision came at an ongoing traffic drive evaluation meeting held at Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters Tuesday night. Leaders of transport owners and workers
association were present at the meeting chaired by the DMP Commissioner AKM Shahidul Hoque.
In the meeting the leaders of transport owners and workers association demanded relocation of lanes for buses and minibuses as the modes of vehicles need to stop at almost every intersection across the city blocking the left (slow) lanes which unnecessarily causes traffic congestion.
They also blamed the private car owners for parking their vehicles all day long in busy areas.
The DMP commissioner said twelve plain-clothes patrol police would be assigned to identify traffic rule violators including such private car owners from today.
Meanwhile, the DMP traffic department yesterday filed 20 cases based on video footage as these vehicles sped away ignoring traffic police.
Case slips for these vehicles would be sent to the owners at their residence or office addresses, said a DMP press release.
According to the press release, registration numbers of those vehicles are Dhaka Metro-Ga 21-7271, 13-0670, 11-7420,11-6220,15-6981,12-9617, 13-7321, 19-0268, 23-5379 and 14-6153, Dhaka Metro-Ka-04-0635, Dhaka Metro-Kha-12-5511, 19-3881 and 12-5919, Dhaka Metro-Gha-11-4619 and 11-3183, Dhaka Metro-Cha-11-6142, Dhaka Metro-la-11-2864, Dhaka Metro-Pa-11-2541 and Habiganj-Gha-11-0021.
The traffic department yesterday filed a total of 854 cases, realised Tk 79,400 as fine, suspended 64 driving licences for three months and arrested two drivers and seized 23 vehicles on charge of violating traffic rules.
However, in Tuesday's evaluation meeting, General Secretary Khandaker Enayet of Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity (DSPS) said, "We noticed that buses and minibuses have to halt at almost every intersections to pick up and get passengers down, for which the vehicles must swerve to left lanes from the designated middle lanes. Due to such change of lanes and halts, vehicles taking the left lane face congestion."
If the left lanes are allotted for buses and minibuses from the current middle lanes it would help ease traffic jams to a great extent, he added.
The DMP commissioner said initially he would change the lane for buses and minibuses on one road and if it proved effective the lanes would be rearranged on other city thoroughfares.
The transport leaders also highlighted that the demarcation lines arc not evident on the streets and the marks are only visible around the intersections. As a result the drivers count penalty though they have no tendency to violate lanes.
They added that due to lengthy process of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and alleged corruption in issuing driving licence, most drivers go for fake licences.
The leaders in the meeting demanded viva voce test for the learners seeking driving licences instead of existing written test, as many better drivers are illiterate.
The DMP commissioner said he along with DSPS leaders would hold a meeting with the BRTA authority regarding tire matter.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary standing committee on home ministry on TYiesday expressed satisfaction over "bringing the horrific traffic congestion to order" and asked the DMP authorities to introduce "lane system" on other major roads.