FBCCI senior vice-president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu called for putting the ongoing construction and repair of roads on hold for a total 14-day before and after Eid to alleviate the suffering of home goers. He made the call at the first meeting of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Transport and Communications (Railways, Roads and Highways) on Sunday held at FBCCI.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, the senior vice-president said that the speed of vehicles slows down due to repair and construction work on roads and highways resulting in huge traffic jams. Therefore, the FBCCI Senior Vice President urged the government to postpone the construction work from April 27 to May 10 to make the Eid journey smoother. He also called for the deployment of highway police at heavy traffic zones.
The Senior Vice President says, “the higher authority of the Bangladesh Police should take strict action to stop extortion on the roads”. FBCCI will send a letter to the Minister of Home Affairs and IGP requesting to stop extortion, he informed at the meeting.
The senior vice-president also called for increasing the number of ferries and ferry trips to cut the long queue of the Buses and trucks short at Mawa and Aricha Ferry Ghat.
Earlier, raising the issue of the financial loss due to traffic jam FBCCI vice-president and director-in-charge of the committee Md. Aminul Haque Shamim informed that the heavy jam at Tongi costs financial loss worth 10 crore taka daily.
Despite being the most affected sector, the public transport sector, which remained shut down for 18 months, received no government assistance, he mentioned. In addition, the owners have to pay regular bank installment to avoid being defaulted even if they have no income. In this situation, He urged the government not to impose any further tax or duty on tires, tubes and other parts in the next financial year's budget.
President of the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association and Chairman of the committee Ramesh Chandra Ghosh said that law enforcement members illegally collect money every night at Joykali Mandir and Ittefaq intersection in the capital. He seeks help from police authority to end this situation.
Identifying the public transport sector as the most affected sector during the Corona period, Ramesh Chandra Ghosh called for policy protection for the next three years.
In their speeches, other members of the committee said that the longevity of vehicles is being declined due to the potholes and broken roads. To reduce traffic congestion and bring discipline to the roads, integrated transport management system and decentralization of services and proper implementation of BRTA are stressed at the meeting. They demanded to stop bribery and extortion in the name of fitness certificates.
Among others, FBCCI director Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, Former Director Abdul Haque, Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, Standing Committee Co-chairmen Eng. Md. Jahangir Alam, M. Humayun Kabir, Faruk Talukder Sohel, Engr. Golam Kabir, G. Rahman Shohid, Bazlur Rahman Ratan and others members of the committee.
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