Buses change cos to trick ban after accidents

Amid frequent fatal and severe accidents, bus companies sidestep the ban slapped on them for causing fatalities on roads and are running their busses on the same city routes allegedly under new company names.

Though the authorities took stern action against two city service bus companies — Suprabhat Pvt Ltd and Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan — for causing major accidents, putting a ban on their entire fleets, an allegation surfaced that currently some of the owners of Suprabhat buses began to operate under Victor Classic Paribahan.

After a Suprabhat Pvt Ltd bus ran over and killed Bangladesh University of Professionals first semester student Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury on March 19 on Pragati Sarani at Badda this year, the government stopped movement of all buses running under the company from March 20 till further notice.

In the night of September 7, a youth was killed and another was injured while a Victor Classic bus hit both of them in Kamar Para area in Uttara.

The deceased was identified as Mehedi Hasan Chhoton, 19, son of Md Yusuf Mia and the critically injured was identified as Yeasir Alvi. The victims were friends.

Just two days before on September 5, Yeasir lost his father Parvez Rob, an acclaimed musician, who died when another Victor Classic bus struck him at Uttara area.

Yeasir sustained injury in the pelvis and the lower portion of his body currently remains paralysed.

Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association senior leader Abul Kalam claimed that stopping movement of all buses of Suprabhat Pvt Ltd was unauthorised as route permit of the company had not been cancelled.

‘As a result the owners changed the paints and name of their buses to run them under Victor Classic,’ he said.

Dhaka Road Transport Owners’ Association organising secretary Mahbubur Rahman said that the route permits were issued against the companies not against the buses.

‘So the owners will not keep their buses idle while they may run their buses under other companies by convincing the owners,’ he said.

On March 20 the current year, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority stopped movement of all buses under Suprabhat and Jabal-e-Noor bus companies till further notice.

‘Buses of these two companies will not ply Dhaka roads until the withdrawal of bans,’ BRTA Mirpur circle office deputy director Md Shafiquzzaman Bhuiyan said.  

Earlier on July 29, 2018, two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin School and College were killed when a Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan bus ploughed through the crowd in front of Kurmitola General Hospital on Airport Road.

Next day on March 21 the authority formed a committee to scrutinise the papers of Suprabhat and Jabal-e-Noor bus companies.

Following the scrutiny, the authority found that out of 163 Suprabhat Paribahan buses only 18 had all valid documents and employed drivers with valid heavy vehicle licences.

Among these 163 buses on Sadarghat-Gazipur route that run via Rampura and Badda, 104 buses were driven by drivers who didn’t possess heavy vehicle licences.

As for 29 Jabal-e-Noor buses, till now, BRTA found that out of the seven buses six had valid documents while one was driven by a driver with a light vehicle licence.

Meanwhile, Md Shafiquzzaman Bhuiyan said that they did not withdraw the suspension notice on the movement of the buses under the two companies till now.

He further said that it was illegal to run the buses of one company under another company without permission.  

He mentioned that Victor Paribahan had route permit to run on the same route of Suprabhat Paribahan and added that they did not get any information whether the buses of Suprabhat were running under Victor Classic by changing the body paint.     

‘We would look into the allegation,’ Shafiquzzaman said.

They had cancelled the registration number of the bus and driving licence of the driver involved in September 5 accident, he said.        

Meanwhile, Yeasir Alvi was released from Shymoli Trauma Centre from Wednesday, her mother Rumana Sultana confirmed.

‘I will file a case as I demand justice for my family,’ she said.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net