Trucks unload vegetables
Flouting laws, a section of truck drivers carry passengers to northern districts from the capital’s Karwan Bazar every night to earn extra bucks.
The passengers, most of whom are day labourers and rickshaw pullers, choose to travel by truck risking their lives as it costs them five to eight times less than that by bus.
According to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983, carrying passenger in goods-carrying vehicle is a punishable offence.
Because of their structural design, trucks are riskier than buses as a means of public transport, says Prof Hasib Mohammed Ahsan, director of Accident Research Institute at Buet.
In the first six months of this year, 1,309 vehicles were involved in road accidents across the country. Of them, 406 were trucks, a police report says.
The exact number of the trucks involved in carrying passengers could not be known, but traders at Karwan Bazar said the number could be in dozens.
These trucks enter Karwan Bazar, one of the biggest wholesale markets in the city, with goods from the northern districts at night. On their way back, they carry 500 to 800 passengers every night, the traders added.
Tapan Kumar Sarker, director (administration) of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, said law enforcers could take action against the truck drivers for carrying passengers.
Police say they do take actions against the truck drivers involved in the illegal business. Reality, however, does not reflect their claim.
Truck driver Rezaul Islam says he knows carrying passengers by truck is illegal, but he still does it for an extra income.
“I’ve to bribe the highway police at least at two points for carrying passengers. At each point, they [police] take Tk 50 to 150,” he claims.
Golam Rabbani, a truck helper, said they carry around 45 passengers regularly from Karwan Bazar to Joypurhat for Tk 40 to Tk 50 each. (A bus ticket from Dhaka to Joypurhat costs between Tk 200 and Tk 400).
The passengers are regular too. They come to the capital at regular intervals to pull rickshaw or to work as day labourers. After working for a few days, they go home by trucks.
However, most of them come to Dhaka by bus.
Md Mamun, a rickshaw puller from Sherpur upazila of Bogra, goes home every eight to ten days.
“I take truck because it’s cheap. It costs me Tk 30 to Tk 40 whereas I’ve to pay Tk 200 to Tk 300 when I travel by bus,” he told The Daily Star.
Shafiqul Islam, also a rickshaw puller, says he takes the risk of travelling by truck to save money.
“I go home by truck as money matters to me,” said Shafiqul, who comes from Joypurhat.
Contacted, Md Jasim, senior assistant commissioner of traffic (Tejgaon zone), said they fined several such track drivers in the last six months.
“We’ve also filed some cases and confiscated a number of trucks,” he said, adding that they would take more steps to prevent carrying of people by trucks.
-With The Daily Star input
