Metre must from Apr 16 in Ctg CNG-autos

CHITTAGONG, Apr 10 (bdnews24.com): Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) will launch a special drive in the port city on April 16 to make sure the CNG-auto rickshaws are using the mandatory fare metres. The police began monitoring Sunday whether the CNG drivers had installed new metres with calibration that shows the fare. The new fare was declared on November 4 last year and was scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2011. But the authorities extended the time up to March 1 due to the delay in installation of such metres. The city's traffic department Friday and Saturday held discussions with CNG drivers, owners, metre suppliers and officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to effectively implement the decision that finally takes effect on April 16. CMP Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Faruk Ahmed Sunday said: "We've started a drive this morning against the CNGs running without metres. Cases will be filed against those to be found without such metres." The deadline for transformation of the metres into calibration ones of some 13,000 CNGs plying the port city was Sunday. The communications ministry fixed the new fare at Tk 25 for the first two kilometres. The fare for the next kilometre was set at Tk 7.00 instead of Tk 6.00. Meanwhile, daily deposit to owners, which was earlier Tk 450, was re-fixed at Tk 600.