Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Light Vehicle Transport Workers Federation (BALTWF) has alleged that the owners of the CNG-run auto-rickshaws have been continuously violating the government's 2007 policy and Sections 35 and 81 of the Road Transport Act 2018.
“Statistics show that CNG owners have illegally collected a total of Tk 2160 crore in excess fares from 2002 to 2024, while during this period, the police have collected approximately Tk 291 crore in fines from drivers,” said BALTWF leaders Abul Hossain and founding General Secretary Md Golam Faruk in a statement on Monday.
BALTWF leaders said that despite repeated written complaints from the Federation, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has not taken any action against the CNG-run auto-rickshaw owners. Due to these reasons, the workers became agitated and surrounded the BRTA building on Sunday, submitting a memorandum.
They also alleged that the BRTA and the owners' association are spreading misleading information about auto-rickshaw drivers, which has no connection to the truth.
They mentioned that recently, the BRTA, following Section 35(1) of the Road Transport Act 2018, issued a circular on January 26, which was kept secret. This circular essentially allows owners to collect additional deposits, with provisions for fines and imprisonment for owners.
On February 10, another circular was issued under Section 35(3) of the same act, targeting drivers. This led to auto-rickshaw drivers becoming agitated, and they surrounded the BRTA building on Sunday, submitting a memorandum to the authorities.
However, the BALTWF was astonished to see media reports accusing drivers of creating chaos on the roads. It was falsely reported that drivers were demanding to operate vehicles without meters, which is entirely untrue.
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The actual situation is that some corrupt BRTA officials, in collusion with the CNG Owners' Association, are spreading such misleading news. We strongly condemn and protest these despicable activities of the BRTA and the owners' association, the statement said.
It is worth noting that the government, in 2002, issued a gazette fixing the fares for CNG auto-rickshaws.
According to this, the daily deposit for CNG vehicles was set at Tk 300, later increased to Tk 450, then Tk 600, and finally, in 2014, it was set at Tk 900. However, the owners' association has never adhered to these rates. From the beginning, CNG owners have been collecting double the prescribed deposit, said the statement of the BALTWF.