Buses disobey govt order
Bus operators blatantly ignored the government directive to operate at half capacity yesterday – the first day of the order coming into effect.
Many buses in the capital were seen with standing passengers, while most of the staffers disregarded health rules, including the directive to wear masks inside public transport.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses were also seen plying with standing passengers – clearly violating government restrictions.
Although transport operators said they were operating buses at full capacity after "getting verbal directives" from the authorities concerned, no such order was issued till last night.
Launch operators operated as usual, meaning the cabinet division's directives on half-capacity operation has not yet been enforced in the water transport sector as well.
Only Bangladesh Railway (BR), the state-run transport agency, yesterday started carrying passengers at half capacity and tried to maintain health safety guidelines inside the trains.
On January 10, the cabinet division issued an 11-point directive, including one that says all public transport must operate at half capacity, to curb the recent rise in Covid-19 transmission.
On Wednesday, transport leaders at a meeting with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) demanded that the government change its decision and allow them to operate at full capacity.
However, on Wednesday, BRTA reiterated the order that from yesterday (Saturday) all public transport will have to run at half capacity.
But Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association on Thursday told its members to operate their vehicles at full capacity, saying the ministry concerned has "verbally" informed them that the government would allow it.
Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners' Association, another major association of bus owners who operate on inter-district routes, also informed it members to operate their vehicles at full capacity.
"Inter-district buses plied at full capacity… Enforcing half capacity operation for public transports while keeping everything [businesses and workplaces] open will create havoc," a top leader of the association told The Daily Star yesterday.
Speaking to this correspondent, a BRTC bus staffer said, "The government had earlier issued a directive to carry passenger of half capacity but that was not approved later. So, we are carrying passengers as usual."
BRTC Chairman Tazul Islam could not be reached over phone for comments.
Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association, said they have operated buses with full capacity following a "verbal decision" of the ministry concerned.
About standing passengers and violations of health safety guidelines, he said BRTA mobile courts are supposed to take action against the those who violate the rules.
Meanwhile, BIWTA has not fixed any date from when launch owners would start following the restrictions and instead wrote to the shipping ministry to change the decision of operating at half capacity.
"Launches were operating as usual. We have given priority to maintaining health safety guidelines," Zainal Abedin, joint director of BIWTA at Sadarghat said.
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