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Stop collection of excess fare

HC asks authorities to discipline errant bus operators

Staff Correspondent
The High Court yesterday asked the authorities concerned to prevent transport operators from collecting extra fares from passengers in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Manikganj.
In a six-point directive, the court ordered the communications and home secretaries to form a sevenmember monitoring committee immediately to enforce the government-fixed fares in transport sector. The committee has to submit a prog-
ress report to the court every month.
The court directive came after Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a rights organisation,
yesterday filed a writ petition as public interest litigation based on newspaper reports saying some corrupt transport operators are charging passengers more than the government-fixed rate.
The HRPB sought HC directives on the government to take measures against collection of higher fares from passengers.
The HC asked the communications secretary to set up several mobile courts in Dhaka city, and also the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority chairman to make sure that the chart of the government-fixed fares is hung inside all buses and minibuses as well as counters.
The court ordered the joint commissioner (Traffic) and all deputy commissioners (Ttaffic) in Dhaka to form a vigilance team in every thana, and asked the inspector general of police and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner to instruct all police stations to monitor bus and minibus counters regularly to prevent collection of additional fares.
It also directed them to take action against transport operators for taking extra fares from passengers.
The HC bench issued a ruling upon the respondents to explain in three weeks why their inaction to stop collection of extra fares from passengers should not be declared illegal and why they should not be directed to enforce the government-fixed fares to save people from financial loss.
Petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid told the court that the government
re-fixed transport fares in consultation with transport owners following its decision to increase fuel price.
But there have been reports that some corrupt businessmen are not following the government-fixed fares. They continue to collect extra fares from passengers much to the sufferings of people with fixed income.
Collection of extra fares from passengers is a violation of the government decision, he said.
Communications and home secretaries, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation and BRTA chairmen, president and secretary of bus owners' association, IGR DMP commissioner, joint commissioner (traffic), superintendents of police of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Manikganj, and deputy commissioners (traffic) of Dhaka have been made respondents to the ruling.
Deputy Attorney General ABM Altaf Hossain stood for the government.
BRTA CIRCULATES FAIR CHART
Bus operators yesterday started charging passengers
according to a fare chart given by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
The BRTA Sunday afternoon circulated a comprehensive fare chart among the bus operators directing them to put up the chart on the buses and stoppages.
One of the two BRTA mobile courts yesterday continued conducting drives at the city's Azimpur. During the drive, the mobile court filed cases against 13 bus services, fined them a total ofTk 10,200 and seized four buses for overcharging passengers and not having valid documents.
"The trend of overcharging passengers has declined after the circulation of the fare chart," BRTA Magistrate SM Rezaul Karim told The Daily Star.
He said most of the buses were following the fare chart. Only a few operators were charging Tk 10 as the lowest fare in place of Tk 7 fixed by the government.
The drive would be continued to check that the government decision is implemented fully, he added.