Govt to cap family car ownership

The government has planned to impose a cap on the number of cars a family can buy to reduce traffic congestion in the capital, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told parliament yesterday. 

“The process is going on to finalise the draft of the Road Transport Act-2016 in place of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983. Putting the cap on buying private vehicles has been proposed in the Road Transport Act,” said the minister while replying to Awami League lawmaker Abdul Latif's query.  Quader said there are over 7.29 lakh small vehicles in the capital which are registered with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

He also said now there are 21,771 public transports, including bus, minibus, human hauler, auto-rickshaw and taxicab, with route permits in the capital.

Meanwhile, Railways Minister Mazibul Hoque yesterday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the construction of railway lines on the Padma bridge would start by January next year.

Responding to lawmakers' queries, he said the government will implement the project titled “Padma Bridge Rail Connection Project” to construct 215km railway lines stretching from Dhaka to Jessore via Mawa, Padma bridge and Bhanga.  Mazibul said the construction of railway lines at Dhaka-Mawa point would begin by January next year.