To make the capital’s traffic efficient and smooth it is necessary first remove to all the illegal and misfit vehicles from the road. Anything that has no legal validity at once affects even those that have legal basis. Those who can bring to the street an illegal vehicle are not likely to follow traffic rules and discipline and that can create the job of maintaining the traffic on the road hard.

That is why, strict measures should be taken to ensure that no illegal vehicle can ply the streets. But as far as Dhaka’s traffic management is concerned, this important aspect has been ignored by the relevant entities including the law enforcing agencies. Had that not been the case, gray-coloured CNG-driven three wheelers with the word ‘private’ written on their bodies would not have plied the street in exchange of fare.

It is these three wheelers that are to a great extent responsible for the legal green-coloured three wheelers not following the meter to charge fare from the passengers. There are allegations that most of these private three wheelers are owned by members of the law enforcing agencies. Moreover, it is not difficult to spot worn-out and misfit buses on the roads of Dhaka. All these have their share of the city’s present monumental traffic irregularities. The DSCC mayor recently declared that he would take a programme of evict all the illegal vehicles that ply his part of the city. But eviction programme only at the DSCC will hardly help.

Better would it be to launch this programme both by the DSCC and DNCC together at the same time so that eviction of the illegal vehicles becomes an effective one. In fact, the two city corporations can positively start a joint programme to address the problem. There is no end to the mismanagement of Dhaka’s traffic system. But plying of the illegal vehicles is one of the most vexing one because it also speaks of the corruption of the relevant departments.