Nearly 55,000 imported private cars and jeeps, having built-in black or tinted glasses from their manufacturing plants abroad, have been allowed to ply on roads although the Home Ministry had earlier ordered its removal to detect kidnappers and hostages.
The deadline for removing black or tinted glasses ended on May 10.
When many owners were busy in removing coloured glasses from their cars, microbuses and jeeps, 55,000 imported vehicles having such glasses fitted in manufacturing plants abroad, have been kept outside the Home Ministry's deadline and allowed to ply, officials and traders concerned said.
Rights bodies have criticised the ministry's reversal of its earlier decision saying that it would create discrimination among the common citizens who own vehicles. They called for extending the deadline to help remove all dark and tinted glasses from all vehicles so that the criminals could not get away with their hostages.
"In the wake of growing incidents of kidnapping across the country, the Home Ministry issued a notification on April 30 asking for removal of all artificial coverings as well as non-transparent and colourful glasses from windows of cars, microbuses and jeeps within May 10", said an official at the ministry.
He said, later on May 6, the ministry issued the second notification which exempted the four wheelers, which have been imported with built-in black or coloured glasses, from its earlier directive to remove those.
"The transparent glasses are scanty in supply in the country and these need much time to be imported from abroad. It has thus forced the ministry to reverse the earlier decision", he said.
A large number of cars, microbuses and jeeps were seen on the roads with black glasses on Saturday evening.
Visiting the city's key areas, FE correspondents found many vehicles with black glasses.
Aminur Rahman, driver of a Prado Jeep told the FE at Bijoy Sharani Saturday that time was very short to change the black windows.
"My boss has told me that there is no need now to change it", said Aminur, who drives the vehicle of a businessman at Uttara Sector-7.
Many motor mechanic shops in the city were, however, seen crowded with cars for changing the windows.
Md Anisul Huda, proprietor of Antora Car Decoration at Nayapaltan area said his shop hardly found any costly imported car or jeep with dark glasses coming for a change.
"The owners of normal or middle-priced vehicles are gathering in shops mostly to replace their windows with transparent glasses to avoid violation of the ministry's order", he said.
"Rent-a-car businesses are also busy in changing their glasses for the same purpose", he said.
Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicle Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA) president Habib Ullah Dawn told the FE that there are nearly 55,000 cars and jeeps in Dhaka and adjacent cities, imported mainly from Japan, which are attached with tinted glasses from the manufacturing stage.
He said, "It would need minimum six months to change the glasses of those vehicles. Prices of transparent glasses are also very high ranging between Tk0.05 million and Tk0.3 million."
"But it is possible", he said when asked.
He also said that the government vehicles have more tinted or black glasses compared to the private ones.
Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said, "It is a dual policy that the Home Ministry has pursued. Consumers or common citizens will feel discriminated. Moreover, the tinted glasses will continue to protect the kidnappers from being seen by law-enforcers on the roads".
He said that the government should extend the deadline to the vehicle owners to change their glasses for the greater cause of safety and security of the citizens. "Now every citizen is scared of being abducted at any time using vehicles with tinted or dark glasses," he pointed out.
With 55,000 vehicles with tinted glasses allowed to ply on roads, the miscreants will surely get a new lease of life, exclaimed a rights activist.
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