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100 BRTC buses hit road

PM says every Dhaka college to get 2 buses

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) yesterday launched 100 newCNG-run buses for city service amid criticism over quality and durability of the vehicles.
Quality of the fibre body of the buses is very low and these buses are not fit for the Dhaka roads, BRTC bus depots officials toldThe Daily Star requesting anonymity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fleet of singledecker buses at a function in the city to meet the high demand for public transport service.
She directed the authorities concerned to introduce BRTC bus services for educational institutions and banks.
The prime minister said the government would provide two buses for each of the colleges in the capital.
BRTC imported the buses of Dongfeng Motor Company in
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China at a cost of Tk 29 crore excluding taxes with assistance from Nordic Development Fund and Bangladesh government.
The imported buses are likely to operate on Abdullahpur-Motijheel, Gabtoli- Motijneel, Mohammadpur-Motijheel and Balughat-Motijheel routes, said a BRTC official.
Of the new buses, Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Jagannath University and Eden University College have got two buses each.
In 2006, BTRC also procured 30 CNG-run buses from China through Progati Industries. Most of them are reportedly lying out of order now.
Half of the total 50 BRTC's luxurious Volvo buses have remained out of order for long.
Criticism over the quality has arisen when on April 19 one of the imported buses was badly damaged by a slight hit of an old vehicle at BTRC's Motijheel deport.
Replying to a query, BRTC Director Colonel Akhtar Kamal said the new buses have been imported following the Public Procurement Rules and technical evaluation committee's suggestions.
Representatives from Buet, communications ministry and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and others have been made members of the technical committee, he said.
About repairing, he said one-third of the 150 rundown buses are already mended while 16 more are under process and a number of them will be scraped.
BRTC has just one workshop in Gazipur for bus repair and another in Tejgaon for repairing non-commercial vehicles.
Repairing cost for each Volvo bus ranges up to Tk 30 lakh, which is not financially viable, said Akhtar.
BRTC has reportedly invited tenders for selling off 35 rundown buses and a plan to sell more 100 in phases. It has around 500 buses in operations. Of them, 100 remain in the workshop forrepair.
Some 7,367 buses and mini buses are now on the 157 city routes, BRTA officials say.
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain and BRTC Chairman MN Iqbal Khan, among others, were present at the function.