The government appears to have backed down again on its plans over outdated vehicles as it would review the road transport leaders’ demand for raising the economic life of commercial vehicles.
The government assurance on Sunday prompted  the transport leaders to withdraw a 72-hour strike they called for realising their eight-point demands.
The demands also included a halt to the government’s ongoing countrywide drive against outdated vehicles and amending some sections of the Road Transport Act, 2018 by reducing punishments.
The strike, called under the banner of Bangladesh Road Transport Owner-Worker Coordination Council on July 27, was scheduled to start at 6:00am tomorrow.
After an inter-ministerial meeting at Bidyut Bhaban in the capital Dhaka on Sunday, the road transport and bridges ministry adviser, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, told journalists that they had assured the transport leaders that they had already taken some steps to meet some of their demands and would take more steps in this regard.
After two deadlines were missed by the transport owners, the interim government set July 20 as the third deadline for removing the outdated vehicles from roads.
The government on July 20 started the countrywide joint drive to remove the buses and trucks which have expired their economic life of 20 years (bus) and 25 years (truck).
Earlier on October 24, 2024, the environment, forest, and climate change adviser, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, said that an ultimatum of six months was given to the transport owners for replacing the buses and minibuses crossing 20 years in the Dhaka city with environment-friendly vehicles.
During the 2009-2024 Awami League-led regime, the road transport owners and workers had frequently called and enforced strikes against the government’s moves like the enactment of the 2018 law following a countrywide student protests for road safety and drives against outdated vehicles and vehicles without registration.
The Awami League regime was ousted on August 5, 2024, in a student-led mass uprising.
Fouzul Kabir after Sunday’s inter-ministerial meeting also said that for effective monitoring they had also formed some committees comprised of representatives from the ministries of road transport, home affairs, commerce and health and family welfare.
Replying to a question about the ongoing drive against outdated vehicles, the adviser said that they had some problems like the crisis of dumping vehicles after their seizure and the crisis of new vehicles on roads to replace the old ones.
‘Considering everything, we will continue the drive, but in a way that will not harm the transport owners,’ he said.
Replying to a question whether they bowed down again to the demands of the transport leaders, Fouzul Kabir said that they did not stop the drive.
‘We will do things which will be possible for us,’ he said.
About amending the road transport law, the adviser said that they had not made any decision yet about any particular section of the law.
‘We will prepare a draft of the amendments to the law by the next 60 days,’ he added.
At the Bidyut Bhaban, Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal coordinator Shamsur Rahman Biswas, who attended Sunday’s inter-ministerial meeting, said that it was not fair to realise any demand by holding the government hostage.
He said that it was rational to phase out the outdated vehicles gradually and the law must be acceptable to all.
‘We upheld our rational demands and the government understood us,’ he said, adding, ‘that is why we are cancelling the August 12-15 strike.’
