Tuesday, October 7, 2025

‘Total collapse’ if illegal driving licences cancelled: BRTA

The chairman of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority has warned the High Court that the road transport system would become ‘paralysed’, causing a ‘total collapse’ of the food and essentials supply chain, if it decided to cancel the tens of thousands of driving licences that the authority admits it has given ‘on easy terms’ in violation of the normal legal process.
Md Ayuber Rahman Khan’s stark warning of ‘heavy chaos’ comes at the end of an affidavit in which he admits for the first time that in 2009 the BRTA issued about 10,000 driving licences to lorry drivers on ‘easy terms’, a practice that it now says has been taking place for at least nine years.
The admissions are contained in an affidavit the chairman filed on Sunday in the High Court in response to a public interest writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Bangladesh Bar Council’s Legal Aid and Human Rights Committee’s chairman ZI Khan, and Supreme Court lawyer Abantee Nurul.
The writ was filed in August in the wake of the death of award-winning filmmaker Tareque Masud and cameraman Ashfaque Munier on 13 August and the death of 40 schoolchildren in a road accident at Mirersarai in Chittagong a month earlier.
The court of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Anwarul Haque had asked the BRTA to respond to a report published in August in the daily Prothom Alo, alleging that pressure from shipping minister Shahjahan Khan had resulted in BRTA issuing 10,000 driving licences to road transport workers without ensuring that the legal requirements had been met, and that similar requests had been made for a further 24,000 licences.
In his affidavit to the court, the BRTA’s chairman admitted that 10,000 licences were issued in this way. ‘A list of around 24,000 applications for driving licences from Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation was submitted to BRTA for issuance… on relaxed conditions,’ he added.
With regard to the applications, he however states, ‘No action has been taken by the Road Division, Ministry of Communications or BRTA.’
The shipping minister, Shajahan Khan, is the executive president of the Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation.
The BRTA’s chairman states in his affidavit that this practice of giving licences on ‘easy terms’ goes back to a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 20 August, 2003 between the then BNP communications minister Nazmul Huda and the Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Oikko Parishad, in order to bring to an end indefinite transport strike that was then taking place in the northern and south-western parts of Bangladesh.
The Memorandum of Understanding, annexed to BRTA’s report to the court, suggests that all that was necessary for a worker to get a licence was a letter from his union attesting to his skill.
‘Necessary measures will be taken to provide licences on easy terms through the testing board to drivers having certificates of skill from the president or general secretary of the concerned workers union and attested to by the central and concerned regional committee of the road transport workers federation,’ says the MoU.
In effect, this meant that drivers under 18 years of age, unable to read or write, and without undergoing a proper driving proficiency test, were able to get licences from the driving competency test boards run by the BRTA.
When contacted, Nazmul Huda, the originator of this practice according to the current chairman of the BRTA, said that he did not want to comment on this issue now. ‘’I will talk to you later.’
Following the filing of the public interest writ petition, the High Court bench on 25 August directed a number of concerned government authorities to submit by October 17 the details of the number of road accidents and the measures taken to reduce the number of deaths and injuries.
Following their failure to comply with the order, the court asked the government bodies to submit six reports by November 14 along with four others by November 29, warning them that they would be subject to legal action if they failed to submit the reports.
The BRTA’s chairman, however, denies some of the allegations made in Prothom Alo’s report.
He said that no decision was taken at a meeting of the National Road Safety Council in early 2011 ‘to issue “24,500 driving licences” to professional drivers without making them undergo proper tests and exams’, as the newspaper suggested, and claims that at no stage of the meeting was ‘extortion in the [the] transport sector’ discussed.
The affidavit claimed that the BRTA was doing its best to reduce road accidents and in 2010/11 had provided training to 18,000 professional drivers in 88 batches, had organised 73 awareness seminars and workshops throughout the country and distributed 52,000 leaflets and 10,000 posters to raise public awareness.
It also stated that it had regularly organised mobile courts and that in a 14-month period, between August 2009 and October 2011, had filed 19,791 cases under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983, resulting in fines of over 1.69 crore.
In an annex to affidavit, a BRTA report said that in line with Rule 6 of the Motor Vehicles Rules 1984, in each district and metropolitan area there is a competency test board consisting of members of the district administration and police to conduct road-driving tests, and the BRTA issues driving licences on the basis of the recommendations of the board.
‘Fake licences are available but the BRTA is not at all involved in the racket,’ claimed the authorities in the report.
The report said that the BRTA was following Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1918 in issuing learner driving licences to some people before they took driving competency tests.
It also said that the BRTA followed Rule 10 of the Motor Vehicles Rules 1984 which says, ‘A person shall not be eligible for holding a driving licence under the Ordinance if he does not know how to read and write either in Bengali or English.’
The BRTA dismissed media reports that it does not follow the age-limit of 18 years for issuing driving licences.
The report also stated that according to information obtained from the police in each of the last 12 years, an average of 3,250 people were killed in road accidents and 2,923 suffered injuries, amounting to a total of 39,006 deaths and 35,086 injuries in 50,201 road accidents across the country between 1999 and 2010.

 

Courtesy of New Age

Related News

Poor pay, allowances of teachers affect education

World Teacher’s Day today Shahin Akhter Poor pay-scale and allowances and low social status mark the poor condition of the teachers in Bangladesh affecting the education sector, observed educationists and researchers. They also said that the Bangladeshi teachers were lagging much behind their fellows even in the neighbouring countries in terms of these facilities and ... Read more

Protecting hilsa: 22-day fishing ban begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has put a 22-day halt on catching, transporting, storing, selling, and marketing hilsa throughout the country. This measure aims to protect the fish during its crucial breeding season. The ban started at midnight yesterday and will last until October 25, as stated in a notification from the Ministry of ... Read more

Road fatalities: 446 crashes, 417 lives lost in September

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In September, a tragic report from the Road Safety Foundation revealed that at least 417 people lost their lives and 682 were injured in 446 road accidents throughout Bangladesh. Among those who died, there were 63 women and 47 children, as highlighted in the foundation’s monthly report released today. In 151 ... Read more

Man’s fatal fall into Ramna Park lake

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A tragic incident occurred yesterday at Ramna Park in the capital, where a man drowned in the lake. The victim has been identified as 55-year-old Wasimul Haq. The police were able to identify him using fingerprint records. According to Ramna police SI Mizanur Rahman, he was discovered unconscious around 6:00 PM ... Read more

Tariff Commission’s size-based hilsa pricing strategy

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), also known as the Tariff Commission, has suggested setting a maximum retail price for hilsa based on its size. This recommendation comes in response to the unusual spike in prices seen in the local market. On Sunday, the Tariff Commission released a report detailing ... Read more

Ekushey Book Fair won’t happen in December

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangla Academy announced yesterday (28 September), that the previously scheduled dates for the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 have been postponed. In a press release, they explained that this decision was made following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 21, which indicated that the fair should ... Read more

Working in Bangladesh is quite challenging: CEC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Election Commission is grappling with a mix of challenges, both seen and unseen, as it gears up for the upcoming elections and responds to various demands, shared chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday. “These hurdles might not be apparent from the outside, but we’re constantly navigating through them,” ... Read more

Travel ban on Keokradong hill to be lifted starting from 1 October

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Great news for travelers! Keokradong hill in Bandarban’s Ruma upazila is set to welcome tourists again starting October 1. The district administration has finally lifted the travel ban that had been in effect for almost three years. Bandarban Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shamim Ara Rini announced the decision today (27 September) during ... Read more

Tree planting campaign to lower pollution, make city more attractive

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Shahjahan Mia has inaugurated a tree plantation and greening programme covering 33 road medians, spanning a total length of 31 kilometres, within the corporation’s jurisdiction. Under the “Zero Soil” programme, ornamental flowering trees and grasses will be planted across 28 DSCC medians, while the ... Read more

Krishi Bank ranks third in remittance collection

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Krishi Bank has shown remarkable success in collecting remittances from expatriates during the first eight months of 2025 (January–August). Known as bank for farmers due to its agricultural loan services, this state-owned institution has climbed to the third position in remittance collection from abroad in that timeframe. This notable achievement has ... Read more

North Bay low : Rain forecast for Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Many parts of the country is expected to witness moderate to heavy and very heavy rainfall in the coming days due to the formation of a low-pressure system over the north Bay and adjoining coastal areas, the Met office said in its latest forecast. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s 120-hour weather ... Read more

Metrorail boosts service: Extended hours & more frequent arrivals

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka metrorail service is set to start operating earlier in the morning and later at night to better serve the growing number of passengers. Service hours will be extended by 30 minutes at both the beginning and end of the day, and the interval between trains will be reduced by nearly ... Read more

22% minors in Bangladesh’s sex trade

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 22 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation (abuse of a person, or a minor, through sexual activities in exchange for money, goods, or other benefits) in Bangladesh are children, said speakers at an event yesterday. They shared the information at the launch of “Project Shurakkha”, an initiative of ... Read more

WB Reports Bangladesh Heat Costs at $1.78 Billion in 2024

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Rising temperatures in Bangladesh are fueling a surge in heat-related illnesses, leading to the loss of 250 million workdays in 2024 and economic losses estimated at $1.33–1.78 billion, representing about 0.3 to 0.4 percent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, according to a new World Bank report. The report ... Read more

Police clearance no longer required for passports

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus announced that police verification will no longer be necessary for obtaining a passport, thereby reducing unnecessary hassle for citizens. “Getting a passport is a basic right. We have established a rule that eliminates the need for police verification,” he stated. While speaking at the opening session ... Read more

Metro rail achieves record 4 lakh daily passengers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Metro Rail has achieved a remarkable milestone by carrying over 400,000 passengers in a single day. The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), which operates the Metro Rail, announced this achievement on their official Facebook page on Friday night. For the first time, Metro Rail recorded 403,164 passengers. The Metro Rail ... Read more

Most people, about 66% think civil servants behave as if they are rulers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com More than 100,000 participants have contributed their responses to reform commission’s online survey 80% of the respondents believe that the administration is not approachable for the general public, according to a survey conducted by the Public Administration Reform Commission. Additionally, 66% of participants feel that civil servants act as if they ... Read more

Former Justice Abdur Rouf dies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Md Abdur Rouf has passed away at the age of 91. He died around 10:00 am while receiving treatment at Insaf Barakah Kidney and General Hospital in Dhaka, as stated in a press release. Justice Rouf had been battling heart disease, lung complications, kidney issues, and ... Read more

Bangladesh climbed 4 positions to rank 93rd in global passport index

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh has climbed four notches up in the latest Henley Passport Index 2025, ranking 93rd out of 99. However, the number of visa-free destinations for Bangladeshi passport holders has dropped from 42 in 2024 to 39 this year, reflecting a decline in global travel privileges. Despite this improvement in rank — ... Read more

BBS Findings show Madaripur most poverty-stricken district, Noakhali least

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Madaripur has the highest poverty rate in the country, with 54.4% of its population living below the upper poverty line. The district’s upazilas are also significantly affected by poverty, with Dasar upazila reporting a poverty rate of 63.2%, as per a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). BBS ... Read more