Unauthorised CNG autorickshaws flood city

According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) there are 13,000 registered CNG-run autorickshaws in the city. But the survey claims that about 32,500 autorickshaws are currently in operation in the metropolitan area.

The survey was conducted under the Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka, a 20-year transport project of the government funded by the World Bank.

The unauthorised autorickshaws are plying with the same number plate and documents of the authorised autorickshaws. Sources at BRTA said that unscrupulous owners of the unauthorised autorickshaws often collect duplicate documents of the authorised autorickshaws from BRTA saying that the original documents are lost.

The traffic survey conducted through screen line tests indicates that autorickshaws account for 30 percent of all motorised vehicles in the city.

About the unauthorised CNG autorickshaws, a traffic sergeant said, "Usually we do not check the chassis and engine numbers of an autorickshaw. We just check papers. If the papers are duplicate, then how can we assume that the vehicle is unauthorised?"

However, Humayan Rashid, director (operations) of BRTA told Star City that no duplicate documents for autorickshaws was provided to the owners within last 6 months.

Admitting the presence of unauthorised autorickshaws in the city, he said BRTA provided a special tri-colour sticker to the authorised autorickshaws, but unscrupulous owners have already forged the special sticker for unauthorised vehicles.

BRTA is regularly conducting drive of mobile courts that found some unauthorised autorickshaws and dumped them instantly, Humayan said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have planned to increase the number of CNG autorickshaws in the city considering its increasing demand.

Sources said BRTA on May 17 send recommendations to the communications ministry to increase the number of CNG-run autorickshaws in the capital.

Humayun said, "With the increasing population the demand for autorickshaws has increased, but BRTA did not recommend any specific number for the increase."

He however said the new vehicles will be distributed through lottery among the owners.

In 2002, the government introduced 12,000 CNG-run autorickshaws after phasing out around 40,000 petrol-run two-stroke autorickshaws largely blamed for air pollution. At that time the government put a limit on the number of autorickshaws at 13,000.

The government added 1,000 more autorickshaws in 2004. Uttara Motors alone sold more than 10,000 autorickshaws.

Amit Bhattacharjee, general manager of Uttara Motors, said the company has stopped selling autorickshaws in 2004 when BRTA stopped giving registration of the vehicles.

He said the extra vehicles might come to the city from other divisional cities.

About curbing these unauthorised autorickshaws, he said BRTA can remove all these vehicles during yearly fitness tests of them. More mobile courts can be introduced against these unauthorised autorickshaws, he suggested.