Govt relaxes 3-wheeler ban on highway

Six days after enforcing a ban on three-wheelers and slow-moving vehicles on highways, the government yesterday relaxed the embargo for two hours daily to facilitate refuelling for vehicles.

Auto-rickshaws would be allowed to ply highways from 6:00am to 8:00am to go to CNG filling stations for refuelling, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said yesterday.

However, the auto-rickshaws would not be allowed to carry passengers during that time, he told reporters at Chouddagram in Comilla while visiting a construction site of a Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project.

The new system will come into effect from today, officials at the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry said.

The ministry issued an order on July 27, banning three-wheeler auto-rickshaws, auto-tempos and other slow-moving and unfit vehicles on highways. The order enforced to reduce road accidents came into effect on August 1.

Owners and drivers of vehicles staged demonstration protesting the ban, blockaded roads creating long tailback on different highways over last couple of days. They also demanded construction of a separate lane for slow moving vehicles on highways.  

Talking to reporters at a separate spot in Feni yesterday, the minister said any challenges must be addressed to ensure discipline on highways and to protect lives.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Malik-Sramik Oikkya Parishad, a platform of bus, truck and covered van owners and workers, yesterday welcomed the ban and urged the government to implement it strictly.

Owners and drivers of three wheelers, who continue protesting the ban, in a statement yesterday urged the government to sit in discussion with them to end the current issue.