Drive against unruly owners and drivers of auto rickshaw.

Staff reporter:

Bangladesh Road transport Authority (BRTA) has launched operation against unruly CNG auto rickshaw owners and drivers for alleged collection of higher deposits from the drivers and higher fare from the passengers.

BRTA carried out mobile courts at different points of the city and filed 23 cases for collection of over deposits by the owners and charging higher fares. Taka 3150 has been fined against such cases. Ten cases have been filed against auto owners for collecting excess daily deposit from the drivers. Few auto rickshaws have been confiscated for dumping.

Few of the auto owners have been arrested for beating the drivers for non-payment of over deposits. Joint forces and police personal assisted the BRTA authority in this operation. Govt. has fixed the amount to be deposited to the owners by the drivers and also fixed the rate for hire. This was settled after a tripartite meeting between auto owners, drivers and representatives from the Govt. this new system was effective from 1^st may, 2007. But unfortunately, many auto owners and drivers are not abiding by this new system. It is alleged that the auto owners press the drivers for higher deposits and threaten them to sack from jobs. There are also complaints against auto drivers for charging higher fare from the passengers. Moreover, they do not want to go for short distance.

However, a press release from BRTA mentioned that such drive will continue against defaulters in future also.