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Ctg commuters suffer for lack of transport

Vehicles stop plying roads fearing BRTA drive

Arun Bikash Dey, ctg
With Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) conducting mobile court drives since August 30 and imposing strict measures on vehicles plying without proper documents or route permits, commuters of the port city are suffering due to a shortage of public transport on city roads.
People in different parts of the city struggled to reach their destinations as a large number of the public transports remained off the streets.
Fearing BRTA drives, vehicles without fitness certificates or licences remained offroad, said many transport workers. Consequently, commuters' sufferings escalated as they had to wait for hours for transports.
Ripa Khanam was one of them. She along with her daughter was waiting near Jamal Khan intersection yesterday afternoon. "I have been waiting for an hour but could not
get on a bus. Only a handful are operating, and they are packed to the brim."
"I don't know how long we have to wait to go home," said the Agrabad resident.
Not just Ripa, but many other parents were also waiting there with their schoolgoingchildren.
Same scenario prevailed in Chawk Bazar intersection. Students of Chittagong College and Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College were seen waiting for public transportation.
"I have been waiting for around 40 minutes to go to Dewan Hat,” said Sumi Das, a student of Chittagong College. "Most of the human hauliers seem to have vanished. ”
However, many citizens appreciated the ongoing drive.
Naimul Haque, a private job holder, said even though it was hard to find a vehicle since the drive started, it was necessary for ensuring road safety. Shuvagata Chowdhury, a physician, echoed him. He said now owners and drivers of the vehicles would make sure they have proper documents and vehicles are fit to ply the roads.
Contacted, Tarun Dasgupta, general secretary of Chittagong City Service Owners' Association, alleged that many vehicles were impounded by the mobile courts for trivial reasons. "Suppose a window of a bus was slightly broken, the vehicle was still dumped," he alleged. “For this reason, many vehicles remained off-road."
He also alleged that drivers and transport workers were harassed.
Denying the allegation, Ziaul Haque Mir,
an executive magistrate of BRTA, Chittagong, said drivers who showed proper documents were not only welcomed by the mobile courts but also given flowers and bags to keep their documents safe.
Asked about the allegation of dumping vehicles for trivial reasons, he said, "If a glass of a vehicle is broken, is it fit? Why should we not dump those?"
NM Manjurul Haque, another BRTA executive magistrate, said the sufferings would be over soon.
"Due to our drives, vehicles are plying the city roads following regulations. Many owners and drivers are also applying for proper documents," he said. "We will continue our drives against unfit vehicles."