Why are unfit vehicles invisible only to the authorities?

Banned three-wheelers with two-stroke engines continue to ply the streets of Dhaka, as seen in a photograph published by this newspaper yesterday. In the photo, taken in the city's Lalbagh area, three-wheelers that have no fitness certificates can be seen, with one of them running on the street with passengers in it. The three-wheelers in question have no turn signals and no number plates, with just a few numbers painted on them by their owners. Yet, they continue to operate in broad daylight.

How is this possible? What happened to the much-touted drives to free Dhaka's streets from all unfit vehicles? And how did the owners and drivers of these vehicles become so emboldened as to operate them so openly? The most likely explanation, of course, is that they are plying the streets in exchange for bribes.

The decision to ban three-wheelers with two-stroke engines was taken in 2003—nearly two decades ago now—based mainly on environmental considerations, as exhaust from these vehicles reduces air quality. According to a study published in the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, samples collected from 2000 to 2004 showed how removing these vehicles reduced fine particulate matter and black carbon concentrations from city roads. Now, with so much talk going on about Dhaka's poor air quality, it is shocking to see drivers of three-wheelers with two-stroke engines ignoring the ban without any fear, and without the authorities stepping in and removing them from the streets.

The authorities need to strictly enforce the ban on vehicles with two-stroke engines. And the only way to make that happen is for the authorities to actually launch and continue with drives to remove unfit vehicles from the roads. These drives cannot be sporadic, but must be continuous.