CNG-run auto-rickshaw strike begins

CNG-run auto-rickshaws plying on Dhaka roads. Photo: joeliscurious.wordpress.com

CNG-run auto-rickshaw owners enforced a three-day strike in the capital since this morning protesting, what they said, non-implementation of the vehicles' increased life span approved by the government.

The city dwellers suffered heavily as a very few auto-rickshaws is plying the streets. Buses are seen overcrowded while taxicab drivers charged extra fares from commuters.
In the morning, hundreds of office-goers were seen waiting for buses standing in long queues on different roads.
Dhaka City CNG-run Auto-rickshaw Owners' Association started the strike from 6:00am.
ATM Najmul Hasan, general secretary of the association, yesterday told The Daily Star that the government had increased the life span of the auto-rickshaws to 15 years from 11 years.
BRTA issued a gazette notification on May 19 in this regard, he added.
But due to bureaucratic red tape, it is yet to be implemented, Najmul said.