No ban, govt to regulate movements of three-wheelers, motorcycles on highways: Quader

Highlights

• Movements of three-wheelers and motorcycles on highways to be regulated
• Initially, five highways selected for strict monitoring
• The highways are- Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Tangail, Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chattogram
• Not enough manpower to monitor highways all across the country
• Tk4,080 crore project formulated for road safety
• People will get driving license at home via online

The government has decided to regulate the movement of three-wheelers and motorcycles on highways instead of banning them, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said. 

Initially, these vehicles will be strictly monitored on five important highways in the country including Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Tangail, Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chattogram highways as part of the decision, he said.

The government is also formulating a policy in this respect, the minister told reporters after a meeting of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) at the BRTA building in the capital's Banani on Tuesday.

In 2015, three-wheelers were banned on 22 important highways of the country after a High Court order.

"However, the government has changed stance as many people in the country are dependent on them for a living," Obaidul Quader said.

It is not possible to strictly monitor all the highways in the country due to a lack of manpower, he added.

The minister said the manpower of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and the Highway Police has not increased compared to the amount of pressure on the highways.

Tk4,080 crore project for road safety

The transport minister said that a World Bank-funded project is being formulated for road safety and the DPP of the project has already been prepared.

The project will be sent to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) very soon, he said.

"A loan of Tk4,080 crore will be taken from the World Bank for the road safety project," he added.

According to the Road Safety Foundation, 708 accidents happened in the country in September and October this year killing 846 people and injuring 1,057 people.

Among them 307 were motorcycle accidents, in which 348 people were killed, around 41% of the total deaths.

Driving license at home

The minister said that from now on there will be no need to go to the BRTA office to apply for a driving license. It could be done at home online.

"From tomorrow (Wednesday), everyone will be able to apply for a driving license from home. People will have to come to the BRTA office only once for the test," said Obaidul Quader.

'Avoid false news against Awami League'

Regarding the news that a person died in a clash at the Dirai upazila Awami League conference in Sunamganj, the General Secretary of the party Obaidul Quader said that it is absolutely false.

Claiming that the person did not attend the conference, he said, "The man came from Dubai and was staying at his home which is far away from the venue of the conference. His family members took him to the hospital at 3pm. He died due to a stroke. It has nothing to do with our conference."

"It was false news. Please, refrain from publishing false news about the Awami League," Obaidul Quader added.