Tyranny of transport owners: Cancel 2003 black treaty

BRTC bus. File photo
BRTC bus. File photo

The Daily Star on Monday mentioned an 'unwanted obstruction' in their lead news. It depicts the control of road transport sector no longer lies with the state-owned transport corporation BRTC (Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation), rather it is being controlled by the private sector bus owners and workers. The bottom line is -- BRTC faces obstacles from the private transport owners and workers once it attempts to run buses along a new route. Particularly, the private sector transport owners and workers call a strike if BRTC attempts to run double-deckers along any route. The owners and workers use a black treaty signed 16 years ago during the BNP government when Nazmul Huda was the communications minister.

According to the media, the government has recently added 600 buses in the BRTC fleet of transports. Procedures are undergoing over buying more buses. In December, private bus owners called a strike as BRTC launched double decker service in Mymensingh. The strike was called off after the administration had intervened, but only on fulfillment of the owners’ conditions. They demanded BRTC to stop the service. Similar circumstances arose after speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury inaugurated a double-decker service in his constituency, Rangpur-6. The private bus owners only withdrew their agitation on a pledge that the double-deckers would not run outside of city. It seems that the transport sector has become hostage to private sector transport owners and workers.

The principle reason for such opposition of the owners is a lesser bus fare and comfortable journey offered by the BRTC, which made it popular among the passengers. The private transport owners fear their profits would drop if the government buses are there. They want an open market economy but at the same time they want to run businesses obstructing government buses. Such duplicity cannot be allowed.

Though Awami League leaders often allege that the BNP government had destroyed institutions, they allowed an anti-public treaty signed during the BNP regime. This treat is contradictory to the 1961 BRTC act or the amended one passed in parliament on 11 February. On 12 December, the BRTC chairman wrote a letter to the road transport and bridges ministry seeking its reconsideration of the 2003 deal. The ministry did not give any decision, but its secretary said the treaty can be cancelled by BRTC itself as came up with the agreement on its own. The secretary should know that the agreement was signed as per the directive of the communications minister in 2003. The cancellation decision must come from the ministry.

The road transport and bridges ministry has been spending millions of taka to buy new buses for the BRTC from abroad, but what's the use if the corporation cannot even run them. The road transport sector cannot run as per the whim of private sector transport owners. The anti-pubic agreement signed during Nazmul Huda's term should be cancelled without any delay.