Communications Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said he might take help of the army to tackle traffic congestion and stop plying of overloaded vehicles in the city.
“If necessary, I will take assistance from the army upon approval of the prime minister to give people relief by tackling the nagging traffic congestion,” Quader said while inaugurating a training programme for driving trainers of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
They can also be engaged in operating the weigh-stations to protect the roads and bridges from damage due to overloaded vehicles,” he said.
Members of the armed forces were in the past engaged in controlling traffic movement in the city.
The government has set up weigh-stations at different bridges and on highways to check overloaded trucks, lorries and vans, but most of those are inoperative. Taking this opportunity, vehicles with overloaded goods are plying, which is one of the main reasons roads and bridges are being damaged.
A total of 25 BRTA trainers are taking part in the two-week-long training programme at the Trust Technical Training Institute of Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, Gazipur. A total of 1,000 trainers will be trained under the programme, organised under the management of Bangladesh Army.
In his speech, Quader asked drivers to keep patience and follow traffic rules properly while driving. He also asked them to refrain from overtaking, over-speed and carrying extra load on their vehicles.
During his visit to Gazipur, the minister got down at different points and randomly checked driving licence and necessary papers of vehicles with the help of BRTA officials.
“I found many drivers carrying fake licences while some vehicles were not registered,” he told The Daily Star over the telephone last night.
Drivers of many vehicles fled seeing the sudden checking at Joydevpur circle and Shibpur crossing.
Maj Gen Abu Belal Md Shafiul Haq, the army adjutant general, BRTA chairman Aiyubur Rahman Khan and Principal of Trust Technical Training Institute Lt Col Asadur Rahman Khan spoke at the function.
-With The Daily Star input
