Drive During Traffic Week: Lenient for some, strict for others

At 11:53am, a traffic policeman at a temporary checkpoint stopped a motorbike with two young men coming towards Science Laboratory Intersection from New Market. The rider was not wearing a helmet though one was hanging in the rear of the motorcycle.

The bike had the registration number Gopalganj La-11-0777.

When the police asked the rider about the vehicle's documents and his driving licence, both men identified themselves as students of Dhaka College and asked to be spared.

The constable then sent them to Sergeant Shamsuddoha, who was sitting on a motorbike nearby. The young men approached the sergeant and identified themselves as members of the Dhaka College unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student front of the Awami league.

The sergeant checked the documents and found the rider had no driving licence.

By this time, a cameraman of a private TV channel started shooting the development. The sergeant then began pressing a handheld device, used for filing cases. At the same time, he continued reprimanding the men for breaking traffic rules at a time when the student movement was going on.

As the cameraman left the spot a few minutes later, Shamsuddoha allowed the men to quickly leave, without filing any case.

A staff correspondent of The Daily Star, who was pretending to be an onlooker at the scene, witnessed the whole incident.

Contacted later over mobile phone, Shamsuddoha said he could not file any case as his handheld device was out of order. Asked why he did not take the help of the two other on-duty sergeants at the police checkpoint, he claimed all devices were out of order as the server was down.

He further claimed they had filed cases against many vehicles and did not even spare police vehicles.

The temporary checkpoint was set up as part of the traffic week which started across the country on Sunday, with vows to go tough on traffic violators.

Between 11:00am and 1:00pm, at least 10 private cars, microbuses and SUVs with stickers of government offices and departments were stopped at the checkpoint but their documents were not checked. They were allowed to leave after being handed some awareness leaflets.

However, some areas were marked by a lack of police presence and traffic rules were flouted there. For instance, around 3:00pm, three men on the same bike were seen riding pillion at Khejurbagan area.

Apart from some incidents of leniency, police were seen strictly checking vehicles at different points of the capital. They also filed cases against many vehicles plying without valid licenses or documents. Many were towed away.

Members of Rover Scouts were also seen assisting police in different points in raising awareness of using footbridges and footpaths. It was also observed that the tendency of abiding by traffic rules had increased among drivers and pedestrians.

Traffic police were seen rigorously enforcing the law at House Building intersection in Uttara since morning.

They checked every motor vehicle, including private cars, public passenger buses, trucks, pick-up vans and motorbikes.

Police also forced passenger to vacate buses without required documents and driver's license and held those vehicles for prosecution and to be towed away.

According to the news portal of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, traffic police lodged 3,240 cases for traffic violations like driving on the wrong side of roads, using hydraulic horns and not having driving licenses and fitness certificates. Police also seized 52 motorcycles.

As the bus owners withdrew their “undeclared strike” due to the students' protests for safe roads on Sunday night, private passenger buses began plying the city and also on long routes, bringing an end to immense suffering of commuters. However, fewer buses were seen on the city streets and long routes.

Earlier, private bus operators fixed August 5 to start selling advance tickets for home-goers ahead of the Eid, but they postponed it citing unrest following the student protest.

In the morning, fewer than usual number of buses left for their destinations from different cities and districts.

“We told all operators to resume services, but due to several days of stoppage, many bus drivers and other workers went to their villages. Also, many are not taking out their buses for fitness issues,” Mahbubur Rahman, organising secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association, told The Daily Star.

In Rajshahi city, drives against traffic violators remained focused on motorcycles and private cars.

Unauthorised battery-run auto rickshaws, that occupied the most of the city streets causing traffic nuisance, were spared in the drives.

In Tangail's Old Bus Stand Area, law enforcers gave roses to drivers who had proper licenses and documents.

Although buses began operating in Pabna, most of them did not leave the district yesterday due to a lack of valid license and necessary documents.