Doubt cast over five licencees' capacity of installing vehicle tracking device by Aug 1
Monday, 29 March 2010
Munima Sultana
The government is not yet fully ready to introduce the vehicle tracking system for more than one million motorised vehicles of the country, with only three months left to comply with the High Court rule issued last year.
The High Court issued the rule on June 25 last year giving the government one year to introduce the vehicle tracking system (VTS) including installation of a related device in all vehicles after the death of Dhaka City College student Suchi in a road accident.
Officials said since the order was issued eight months ago, the government had held three to four meetings with the concerned agencies and also formed a committee of experts to look into the technical aspects of the device.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regul-atory Commission (BTRC) has issued licences to five private service providers to sell the VTS device commercially.
"But no tangible move was taken to equip Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) with necessary facilities, so that they can monitor and track vehicles, apart from ensuring installation of the device in all vehicles," said a high official preferring anonymity.
The HC gave one year to equip the related agencies properly to help them trace any vehicle and monitor its speed from headquarters based on computer records. More than 1.2 million vehicles would come under the system.
Although almost all private service providers have started selling the VTS device to motorised cars, which helps them trace their vehicles and prevent lifting, a few have been found eager about installing the device in vehicles in absence of any directive from the government.
As mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983, the home secretary, the BRTA chairman and the inspector general of police are required to implement the court order by August 1 next.
The government is not yet fully ready to introduce the vehicle tracking system for more than one million motorised vehicles of the country, with only three months left to comply with the High Court rule issued last year.
The High Court issued the rule on June 25 last year giving the government one year to introduce the vehicle tracking system (VTS) including installation of a related device in all vehicles after the death of Dhaka City College student Suchi in a road accident.
Officials said since the order was issued eight months ago, the government had held three to four meetings with the concerned agencies and also formed a committee of experts to look into the technical aspects of the device.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regul-atory Commission (BTRC) has issued licences to five private service providers to sell the VTS device commercially.
"But no tangible move was taken to equip Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) with necessary facilities, so that they can monitor and track vehicles, apart from ensuring installation of the device in all vehicles," said a high official preferring anonymity.
The HC gave one year to equip the related agencies properly to help them trace any vehicle and monitor its speed from headquarters based on computer records. More than 1.2 million vehicles would come under the system.
Although almost all private service providers have started selling the VTS device to motorised cars, which helps them trace their vehicles and prevent lifting, a few have been found eager about installing the device in vehicles in absence of any directive from the government.
As mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983, the home secretary, the BRTA chairman and the inspector general of police are required to implement the court order by August 1 next.