The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a view exchange meeting with the media yesterday demanded of the government to formulate new rules for regulating Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and diesel run buses fares.

Stern actions should be taken against those who are charging extra fares from the passengers, they said during a meeting at Jatiya Pres Club.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Citizens Rights Movement (CRM) and Nagorik Sanghati (NS) jointly organised the programme.

Borhan Ahmed, president of CAB presided over the function and Tushar Rehman, general secretary of CRM read out a written statement.

It was also attended, among others, by Qazi Farooq, general secretary, CAB, Prof ASM Atiqur Rahman, president and Sharifuzzaman Sharif, general secretary, NS and Maj (Retd) Md Mofizul Huq Sarkar, vice president ,CRM.

They said that if the new rules were formulated then the fare of buses would come down appreciably and this could relieve the passengers much of the financial burden.

Speakers alleged that after increase of CNG and diesel prices the owners of buses deliberately charging extra fares from the passengers violating the government directives.

They called for re-fixing CNG run buses fares at Tk 1 and Tk 2 instead of Tk 5 for per kilometre, compelling CNG scooter and taxi cabs as per metre charges, introducing new double decker buses under supervision by BRTC in the city, setting up milestones after every one kilometre in the Dhaka city, forming Inter Districts Road Transport Coordination Council, banning hydraulic horn in the capital, cancellation of government land allotment of those who are yet to set up CNG filling stations and taking actions against those creating anarchy in the transport sectors.