He pointed out that the traffic police were not performing their duties properly. As a result, the pedestrians are not using footbridges and zebra crossings while crossing busy roads and intersections, he added.

The drivers are also parking their cars haphazardly on the roads and at any place of their choice as the traffic police were not enforcing traffic laws properly, Nazmul Huda said at a meeting of the National Road Safety Council at his ministry.

Meeting sources said the minister also expressed his extreme dissatisfaction when he found that no representatives from the home ministry and police department turned up at the meeting.

The communications ministry officials informed the minister that all the members of the road safety council, including home secretary, inspector general of police (IGP) and highway police officials, were invited to the meeting through official letter.

However, a deputy secretary of the home ministry joined the meeting after the officials communicated with the home ministry over telephone and conveyed the minister's resentment.

The meeting was told that the government vehicles emitting black smoke are one of the major obstacles to checking environment pollution.

The meeting decided to convert all the government vehicles into CNG (compressed natural gas) on priority basis and replace the age-old run-down vehicles with new ones.

It also asked the establishment ministry to take necessary steps in this regard.

The meeting also decided to punch a hole in the licence of drivers violating traffic rules. The licence will be cancelled if a driver violates the traffic rules five times, the sources said.

Shahjahan Khan MP, Communication Secretary Shafiqul Islam, chairmen of BRTA and Rajuk, chief engineer of roads and highways department and representatives from the Dhaka City Corporation and Buet attended the meeting.