FBCCI for halting road construction for 14 days centering Eid
Business Desk: Dhaka, Apr-17,
Senior Vice President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu today urged the government for putting the construction and repair work of roads on hold for 14 days before and after the Holy Eid ul Fitr.
He made the call to alleviate the sufferings of the homegoers at the first meeting of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Transport and Communications (Railways, Roads and Highways) held today at the FBCCI Bhaban in the capital,
said a press release.
Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, the senior vice-president said that the speed of vehicles slows down due to repair and construction work on roads and highways resulting in huge traffic jams.
Therefore, he urged the government to postpone the construction work from April 27 to May 10 to make the Eid journey smoother. He also called for the deployment of highway police in heavy traffic zones.
Babu said that the higher authority of the Bangladesh Police should take strict action to stop alleged extortion on the roads and highways.
He informed the meeting that the FBCCI would send a letter to the Minister of Home Affairs and IGP requesting to stop extortion.
The senior vice-president also called for increasing the number of ferries and ferry trips to cut short the long queue of the buses and trucks at Mawa and Aricha ferry ghats.
Earlier, raising the issue of the financial loss due to traffic jam, FBCCI vice-president and director-in-charge of the committee Md. Aminul Haque Shamim informed that the heavy jam at Tongi costs financial loss worth Taka
10 crore daily.
Shamim also urged the government not to impose any further tax or duty on tires, tubes and other parts in the next financial year’s budget.
Identifying the public transport sector as the most affected sector during the pandemic, President of the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association and Chairman of the committee Ramesh Chandra Ghosh called for policy protection
for the next three years.
Other members of the committee said that the longevity of vehicles is being declined due to the potholes and broken roads. To reduce traffic congestion and bring discipline to the roads, integrated transport management system and
decentralization of services and proper implementation of BRTA are stressed at the meeting.
They also demanded of the government to stop bribery and extortion in the name of fitness certificates.
FBCCI director Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, former director Abdul Haque, secretary general Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, standing committee co-chairmen Eng. Md. Jahangir Alam, M. Humayun Kabir, Faruk Talukder Sohel, Engr. Golam Kabir, G. Rahman Shohid, Bazlur Rahman Ratan, among others, were present at the meeting.
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