Regulating BRTA licence seekers
It is disturbing to note that with Fridays enforcement of the Road Transport Act 2018 having provisions for tougher punishment and fines, the number of licence seekers as well as licence touts has spurted in and around all three premises of the BRTA in the capital. These agents are promising, for a hefty fee, the drivers to help them get their licences even if they fail the driving test. There is no dearth of people bereft of morality in this country. They always look for opportunity to indulge in dubious deals to serve their purpose. Here morality or values take a back seat.
Getting a driving licence through agents using backdoor channels is too easy by spending extra money, but it is hard to get a licence from BRTA offices in a legal way. Licence seekers alleged that BRTA officials are not at all interested to work for the applicants following legal procedures. The legal procedure of issuing licence takes around five to seven months and costs Tk. 2,024 (for Learner 345+ and for smart card driving license 1,679) for professional driving licence and Tk. 2,887 for non-professional driving licence. Applicants require passing a driving test for their licence, but the test can be bypassed if agents are hired to acquire the licence through backdoor channels.
Corruption eats into the vitals of a society, weakens the state machinery and erodes the credibility of the government. This menace is not only confined to government departments, it has engulfed almost all sectors. The BRTA office is no exception. There are allegations of irregularities in the office. It is very unfortunate that the office that is being run with the taxpayers money should reach such a stage.
Successive governments have attempted to fight corruption in various sectors with no tangible success. Shady deals expose the common people to suffering while the persons in high positions reap the benefits. By bringing discipline, accountability and transparency at various government offices corruption can be checked remarkably. Cooperation of the taxpayers along with the government efforts is needed for achieving this goal. The government should show zero tolerance against corruption. Transparency and accountability are the need of the hour.
