That the owners
have scant regard for the law of the land has been amply proved. The government should strictly enforce the fares fixed for the mass transporters
Anarchy in the capital�s mass transportation sector
An anarchic condition is prevailing in the mass transportation sector in the capital, affecting the commuters adversely. A report on this appeared in an esteemed daily newspaper yesterday. Due to rise in the prices of compressed natural gas (CNG), government raised the fares of mass transporters by 10 paisa per kilometer. But the owners of transporters like buses, minibuses and auto-rickshaws have raised the fares by one taka per kilometer and are realizing the same from the commuters with bullying tactics. The realization of more fares than the government fixed ones by the owners of transporters according to their whims and caprices is leading to regular brawls among the passengers and drivers and conductors of the vehicles.
Majority of the people in the city have to depend on mass transports for going from one place to another. Very few people are fortunate enough to have their own transports. The costs of living have increased recently. Prices of many daily essentials have shot up. The people of the fixed income groups are bearing the brunt of the situation. The growing inflation has also started taking its toll on the citizens. There are people who have to spend half, even more than half of their monthly incomes to pay the house rents in the capital and the cities and towns around. In these circumstances, rise in the transport fares is an added pressure on them.
The salaries of the government officers and employees have been raised substantially. They may not have the trouble in paying the extra transport fares. But what about the others who are not government employees? How will they pay the same ?
In the past also the owners of mass transports realized extra fares from the commuters defying the government fixed ones. Those led to many untoward incidents. Since the authorities have fixed the fares of mass transporters, it is their responsibility to monitor and supervise whether those are being strictly implemented. According to the rules, each transporter must have a chart of the fares fixed by the government. But surprisingly, no such chart is seen in the vehicles.
Had the authorities been serious about it, the owners of mass transporters would not have dared to realize extra fares from the commuters. That the owners have scant regard for the law of the land has been amply proved. The government should strictly enforce the fares fixed for the mass transporters. Mobile courts should be set up against the law breaking owners of these transporters. Citizens expect fastest effective actions to this end.
