Tax to be imposed for driving cars in upscale areas: Mayor Atiqul

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam has said people would need to pay an additional tax to drive personal cars in posh areas like Gulshan-Baridhara of the capital from now on.

He said the number of vehicles on the road has increased and traffic jam in the city has intensified.

"So we have planned to impose tax on driving cars in these upscale areas," the city mayor added.

Atiqul Islam made the announcement while attending a procession in Malibagh-Khilgaon area of ​​the capital on Saturday morning on the occasion of “world private car free day”.

The event was organised by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) under the theme - “Let’s walk and use public transport to limit private vehicles.”

Atiqul, former BGMEA president, said the number of vehicles has increased a lot. The roads from Gulshan-1 to Gulshan-2 and from Kakoli to Gulshan or Baridhara are always crammed with buses. Each member of a family has a personal car.

People always blame but never try to understand the reason behind the increased traffic jam, he added.

The biggest challenge was to keep the walkways free, the mayor said adding that the sidewalks are occupied the day after they were built.

Business is being run on the walkways and everyone is involved in this. Some political leaders and councillors are also involved in this, the mayor said.

Atiqul further said, “When I ask police about this, they say the political leaders and councillors are involved. When I ask the political leaders, they point to the police again.”

The businessman turned politician said a plan has been made with the help of the urban planners to get rid of this situation.

Businesses on the sidewalks would be allowed for a certain period of time like the evening or holiday markets abroad, he said adding people would not be allowed to run business on the walkways after the specified time.

People would not need to pay any extra money under this rule. People would be able to run business without any hindrance.

The mayor further said the traffic jam has increased a lot due to the illegal occupation of the sidewalks as it forces people to take the streets instead of the walkways.

If the sidewalks were free from occupation, people could walk on it without any hindrance and the traffic problem could be solved, Atiqul added.