Much ado about a Giraffe
Friday, 11 September 2009
Mahmudur Rahman
The death of a giraffe at Mirpur zoo has caused consternation and rightly so. It has made the headlines and the persons responsible have been taken to task, as they should be. And that further bolsters the confidence that wrong doing cannot be countenanced. Or is that so?
One of the means adopted by the authorities to improve the grid-lock in Dhaka traffic has been to launch a drive to get vehicles more than 20 years old off the roads, fine vehicles without proper registration as well as those that are clearly unfit. Ahem! All well and good in that at least the ailment is being addressed. Unfortunately, the symptoms are being ignored. How falsely registered vehicles land up on the roads and by-pass the spot check of traffic police is a question that begs an answer. How too, do 'unfit' vehicles brandish fitness certificates is another one. What about the persons responsible for this?
It's interesting that there has been a suggestion to put the workings of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) under the police so that there is ownership of decisions and, hopefully action for misdeeds.
On a broader brush, there has to be a balance between vehicles hitting the roads and being taken off it. As far as common knowledge goes, a car or bus literally never gets taken off until its creaking mobility grinds to a natural halt. And yet, with computerised facilities, it shouldn't be that difficult to deny papers to transport that have clearly outlived their purpose. Singapore has made it difficult, through taxation to own a private vehicle thereby encouraging the use of public transport. Dubai has a strict driving licence regime that prevents an overflow of vehicles and even India has now begun a process by which vehicles older than 15 years will now have pulled out -- and that includes the familiar and popular Ambassador taxis.
Owners of dilapidated commuter vehicles such as taxis, buses and mini-buses that trundle on the roads of Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh have no such compulsions. Nor do they feel the slightest bit inclined towards the comfort and well-being of passengers. In fact, it is only in the long-range versions do we find the semblance of travel comfort that should be a given.
To be frank the police are bravely fighting a losing battle. Hamstrung by adequate manpower, enforcement facilities and a total disregard by all and sundry to even the minimum traffic laws, their efforts at traffic management are restricted to empty words that have to be said when an invasive media thrusts microphones forward.
There are soft and harsh measures that have now become a necessity if there is to be any solution to the traffic nightmare. Multi-storeyed apartment complexes and offices that have come up without adequate parking facilities need to be taken to task as well as the persons in authority that allowed such a thing to pass. If roads are inadequate to handle traffic loads, there should be forthwith a ban on construction of any more multi-storeyed buildings. The one-way system introduced for the side-roads and alleys have to be communicated and implemented. And maybe it is time for the city to be divided into zones, each of which has a traffic movement curfew on certain days or hours. Not a pleasant thought, but certainly far better than having to sit in snarls for hours on end. And a distinct sight better than being the ostrich, burying heads in sand and hoping the problem will go away.
As for the giraffe, well there certainly won't be dirges or memorial meetings for it. And then again, you never can tell. (The writer can be reached at E-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com)
The death of a giraffe at Mirpur zoo has caused consternation and rightly so. It has made the headlines and the persons responsible have been taken to task, as they should be. And that further bolsters the confidence that wrong doing cannot be countenanced. Or is that so?
One of the means adopted by the authorities to improve the grid-lock in Dhaka traffic has been to launch a drive to get vehicles more than 20 years old off the roads, fine vehicles without proper registration as well as those that are clearly unfit. Ahem! All well and good in that at least the ailment is being addressed. Unfortunately, the symptoms are being ignored. How falsely registered vehicles land up on the roads and by-pass the spot check of traffic police is a question that begs an answer. How too, do 'unfit' vehicles brandish fitness certificates is another one. What about the persons responsible for this?
It's interesting that there has been a suggestion to put the workings of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) under the police so that there is ownership of decisions and, hopefully action for misdeeds.
On a broader brush, there has to be a balance between vehicles hitting the roads and being taken off it. As far as common knowledge goes, a car or bus literally never gets taken off until its creaking mobility grinds to a natural halt. And yet, with computerised facilities, it shouldn't be that difficult to deny papers to transport that have clearly outlived their purpose. Singapore has made it difficult, through taxation to own a private vehicle thereby encouraging the use of public transport. Dubai has a strict driving licence regime that prevents an overflow of vehicles and even India has now begun a process by which vehicles older than 15 years will now have pulled out -- and that includes the familiar and popular Ambassador taxis.
Owners of dilapidated commuter vehicles such as taxis, buses and mini-buses that trundle on the roads of Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh have no such compulsions. Nor do they feel the slightest bit inclined towards the comfort and well-being of passengers. In fact, it is only in the long-range versions do we find the semblance of travel comfort that should be a given.
To be frank the police are bravely fighting a losing battle. Hamstrung by adequate manpower, enforcement facilities and a total disregard by all and sundry to even the minimum traffic laws, their efforts at traffic management are restricted to empty words that have to be said when an invasive media thrusts microphones forward.
There are soft and harsh measures that have now become a necessity if there is to be any solution to the traffic nightmare. Multi-storeyed apartment complexes and offices that have come up without adequate parking facilities need to be taken to task as well as the persons in authority that allowed such a thing to pass. If roads are inadequate to handle traffic loads, there should be forthwith a ban on construction of any more multi-storeyed buildings. The one-way system introduced for the side-roads and alleys have to be communicated and implemented. And maybe it is time for the city to be divided into zones, each of which has a traffic movement curfew on certain days or hours. Not a pleasant thought, but certainly far better than having to sit in snarls for hours on end. And a distinct sight better than being the ostrich, burying heads in sand and hoping the problem will go away.
As for the giraffe, well there certainly won't be dirges or memorial meetings for it. And then again, you never can tell. (The writer can be reached at E-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com)