Govt bans auto-rickshaws on highways

Auto-rickshaws have been banned from plying on national highways. The Roads and Highways Department order on Wednesday follows the death of many auto-rickshaw passengers after the three-wheelers were run over by heavy vehicles in recent weeks. Road transport minister Obaidul Quader emerged from a meeting in the Secretariat to make the announcement. "There are too many three-wheelers plying on the highways these days. That should not be the case," he told reporters. "Many of them have been involved in accidents, hit by heavier vehicles. So we are asking the auto-rickshaws to stay away from the highways," said the minister, according to a news agency.