The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said her government will not allow the private sector transport operators to impose unjustified fares on the passengers.
She further said the present government would not take into consideration the loss and profit of the state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation as this organisation was just for providing services to the people.
'If we don't run the BRTC, then the private sector transport operators will get a free field and this may not augur well for the common people. That's why we will run the BRTC without considering whether they are making profit or loss.'
The prime minister made the remarks while handing over keys of 30 BRTC buses to various educational institutions of the country at a function at the PMO on Tuesday.
Hasina said as in the past, her present government was only for serving the people.
In this regard, she recalled an advice from a donor organisation during her previous tenure where they said the BRTC should be shut down as this state-owned organisation was incurring losses year after year.
'We ignored the advice and went ahead to find out why the BRTC is incurring loss. 'At that time, we took steps to make the state-run organisation a profitable one,' she said.
Hasina said in each country of the world, whether rich or poor, there was public sector transportation system. 'So, why should we shut down the (BRTC) service in our country?'
She also said for the public sector service, there is no scope to see how much they are making profit or loss. 'If we don't have a system of check and balance in the country, then the private transport owners might get the chance to impose unjustified fares on the mass people.'
The premier said the present government was working for the welfare of the mass people. In this connection, she reiterated her government's firm determination to ensure overall development of the country including its social and economic sector.
Hasina said that the government would expand the BRTC service for the welfare of the mass people.
She also said the BRTC and other government agencies should go for strict imposition of the traffic rules that would reduce the road accidents significantly.
At present, the BRTC has 1,031 buses in its fleet while the government already procured 275 buses from China and 255 buses from Korea.
Another 295 double-decker buses, 100 air-conditioned buses and 50 articulated buses will be procured from India for the BRTC fleet. These buses will be purchased under the one billion dollar Indian line of credit.
The communications minister, Syed Abul Hossain, who was present at the function, said additional 300 buses and 300 trucks would be purchased under the Indian line of credit and the process has already started in this regard.
Later, the prime minister formally handed over the keys of the buses to the heads of different educational institutions, including Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Jahangirnagar University and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
Source : New Age
