Deadline for overhauling CNG autos may be extended

Munima Sultana | Published: June 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The government is likely to extend the deadline of overhauling work of CNG auto-rickshaws for one more year to avoid hassle by traffic police as its certification authority would not be able to complete examining all the four-stroke vehicles within the stipulated time.
The government issued a gazette notification on May 26 to increase the lifetime of the 5,500 compressed natural gas (CNG) auto-rickshaws for 15 years from 11 years setting six conditions including complete overhauling works during the 12th year of the CNGs. The 12th year of the auto-rickshaw ends December, 2014.
Officials said the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has already proposed to the ministry of communication to increase the time-limit up to December 2015 for fulfilling the demand of the CNG owners who relaxed their strike until June 9 on this ground.
The Dhaka Metropolitan CNG-run Auto-rickshaw Malik Samity Oikya Parishad enforced 72-hour strike on May 27Â objecting to the fourth condition which asks for getting pressure test of all CNG auto-rickshaws from the government- approved workshop. They suspended the strike getting assurance from the government during a meeting on May 28.
As there is no other authority other than the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), they fear harassment after December 14 by police for lack of capacity of the government-approved authority to complete the test of 5,500 CNG auto-rickshaws by December 2014.
The officials said the BUET in writing informed the authority about its capacity to certify 3,500 vehicles in a year.
"As six months of the running 12th year has been over, it would not be possible for the BUET to examine 1,500 vehicles by December," said a BRTA official.
He said the authority will have to test overhauling of engine, body, suspension, break, transmission, hydraulic pressure of high-power CNG cylinder to certify an auto-rickshaw for increasing the lifetime up to 2017.
The government introduced the environment-friendly CNG-run auto-rickshaw in 2003 replacing thousands of pollution-emitting three-stroke autos to run on main cities for 11 years. On demand from the CNG owners and considering inadequacy of public transport, it, however, increased the lifetime up to 15 years putting the condition of overhauling on running 12th year.