A news report in a national daily on Tuesday said that the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor has suggested imposing extra tax on cars plying through the capital’s affluent areas like Gulshan and Baridhara in order to reduce traffic congestion. However, city planners and local government experts say that charging such fees instead of providing adequate sidewalks on the roads, parking spaces and planned public transport services will rather worsen traffic jams. The city authorities are still in doubt whether the implementation of a number of mega projects, including metrorail will be fruitful in reducing traffic congestion in the capital.
The DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam at an event recently said that the number of private vehicles has increased in elite areas like Gulshan and Baridhara. Additional taxes have to be paid to drive cars in these areas. He said an overwhelming number of cars have flooded the streets. Each member of a family has a different car. So, we have planned to introduce an extra charge for driving through the capital’s elite areas. He said a process is on to recover encroached sidewalks that would increase parking spaces. The corporation has plans so that people can cycle on dedicated lanes and walk on sidewalks.
Demanding money by tax or robbery is easy by abusing power. Both the City Corporations are useless in providing services to the people. Dhaka is among dirtiest and pitifully mismanaged capitals.
According to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), around 30,000 buses of about 2,500 companies operate on 291 routes in the capital, while the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) statistics shows as of August 31, 2021 the number of registered buses is 36,978, that is only 2 per cent of the total number of 17,13,554 vehicles operated in the city. In order to reduce the number of private cars on the roads, an adequate number of comfortable public transports should be introduced as alternatives for commuters.
Greed for money is understandable but success needs competence. Gulshan-Baridhara people cannot be stopped from entering and going out.
