Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said the government has approved 64 parking spots for two city corporation areas. The decision was taken at the 13th board meeting of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), held at Nagar Bhaban, in the capital yesterday. The minister also said the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) would work together to control the plying of easy bikes and battery-run rickshaws on the city roads. Meanwhile, both the north and south city corporations will intensify their drives against illegal occupation of footpaths and illegal vehicles, Quader said. He also said they have decided to shift inter-district bus terminals outside Dhaka city, create roadside city forests, form an action plan to manage traffic, and to prepare a comprehensive transport plan for Narayanganj City Corporation.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Huque, DSCC mayor Sayeed Khokon, Narayanganj city mayor Selina Hayat Ivy, Gazipur mayor Md Jahangir Alam and Narayanganj-2 lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu, among others, were present at the meeting. Sayeed Khokon said the DSCC would launch mobile courts to control air pollution. “Development sites should be managed properly. Construction materials should not be left in a disorderly and haphazard manner. Otherwise, mobile courts will take punitive actions,” he added. The mayor said this yesterday during the inauguration of the water-spraying operation to fight Dhaka’s dust in front of the DSCC headquarters Nagar Bhaban. “Development projects, including Metro railway and the elevated expressway, are the key to air pollution. DSCC projects also pollute the city air,” the mayor added. “We hope that air pollution will reduce soon after the construction works are completed,” he added.