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Target fakes, unfits

Govt launches drive on July 15 against 1 lakh unfit vehicles, 4 lakh fake licence-holders

M Abul Kalam Azad
The government will launch a drive in the capital from July 15 against one lakh unfit and old vehicles and around four lakh drivers using fake licence to reduce road accidents.
A total of 15 mobile courts, each headed by an executive magistrate, will clamp down on 20-year-old buses and minibuses and 25-year-old trucks and vans and other unauthorised vehicles.
The decision came at a meeting at the communication ministry on authorising mobile courts to take action against date expired and illegal vehicles in Dhaka city. Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain chaired the meeting.
However, no guideline came from the meeting on what to do with four lakh drivers with fake licence.
The drive will continue until further notice.
All the 15 mobile courts will start the drive together but they will later split into two groups and carry on the operation four days a week — Sunday, Monday,
Wednesday and Thursday.
Leaders of different transport owners' associations were present at the meeting and assured the communication minister of extending full cooperation to the mobile courts to make the drive a success.
"We will not spare any old or unauthorised vehicles," Abul Hossain told the meeting, urging the transport owners not to lobby when the mobilecourts seize their vehicles.
The meeting accepted the owners' proposal of allowing inter-district buses and goods-laden trucks and vans pass through the capital between midnight and 5:00am.
However, it turned down their plea to delay the drive by one week
"We do not want to see vehicles without fitness and route permit ply the city roads. But the problem is that 80 percent of the driver's licence is fake," said Khandaker Enayet Hossain, secretary general of Dhaka Sarak and Paribahan Owners' Association.
He apprehended that at least 20 percent vehicles would remain off the roads due to shortage of drivers. He proposed launching similar drives in the suburbs of Dhaka where the old and unauthorised vehicles are usually transferred.
Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority Ayubur Rahman Khan also identified fake licence as one of the main problems in transport sector. He said many a group is involved in making fake driver's licence.
Communications Secretary Mozammel Haq Khan said a chaotic situation is now prevailing in the transport sector due to various irregularities.
Following the discussion, the meeting decided to make driving tests easier to encourage people for valid licence.
"We must bring some discipline in the roads by removing the old and unauthorised vehicles," said Director of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) Tapon Kumar Sarker.
He and Abu Hena Mostafa Jahan, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka, raised the limitations mobile courts had faced in the past while carrying out such drives.
"We did not have adequate logistics and manpower. Moreover, magistrates and police showed no interest in mobile court drives as they were not paid in exchange," said Mostafa Jahan, adding that, ironically, many of the vehicles requisitioned for the purpose were unfit.
He said the DC office had been asked to provide vehicles and other necessary logistics for the drive but it has no fund for that. He urged the meeting to allocate fund for the mobile court operation.
The communications minister pressed for the presence of representatives from the transport owner and journalist communities to make the drive transparent and effective, but the others in the meeting opposed the idea saying the mobile courts are enough to make the drive successful.
Additional Secretary of communications ministry Khandaker Md Iftekher Haider, Joint Secretary of home ministry Shawkat Mostafa, Salahuddin of Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Board and Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Shafiqur Rahman also took part in the discussion.