Auto-rickshaw and auto-tempo workers have urged the government to make a special allocation for them so that they can deal with the financial hardship caused by the ongoing general holidays.

Bangladesh Autorickshaw-Autotempo Transport Workers Federation (BAATWF) urged the government, transport owners and affluent people to provide food and other essentials to the transport workers who have become jobless due to, the current situation created over coronavirus.

The leaders of Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Auto-Tempo Transport Workers’ Federation (BAATWF) on Friday urged the government to save the transport sector from ‘extortion by police and political leaders’.

Claiming that the law was enacted without taking cognisance of the opinions of transport workers, Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Auto-Tempo Transport Workers’ Federation (BAATWF) on Wednesday demanded that the Road Transport Act 2018 be amended.   It made the demand from a meeting held at its Topkhana Road office with its Vice-president Shahjahan Hawlader in the chair.          The meeting was addressed, among others, by BAATWF Secretary General Golam Faruque, leaders Abul Hossain, Rasul Ahmed, Jahangir Alam, Nasir Uddin and Nantu Sikder.      The BAATWF leaders said they have placed their suggestions on the amendment of the law several times to the Prime Minister’s Office. But nothing was taken into consideration while enacting the new law.   They said the country’s transport workers welcomed the new law. But at the same time, they observed that the interest of the transport workers was not protected in it.   The association leaders said to enforce the new law, it is necessary to provide training to police and transport workers, create trained drivers, improve infrastructure and remove the roadside shops and haat-bazars from highways.   They also demanded launching of motivational campaign to create awareness among the transport workers and people before going for enforcement of the new law.   The new law created anarchy in the transport sector as the government did not launch necessary campaign to create awareness about the provisions of the new law, they observed.