Double decker sleeper coaches are becoming a popular mode of transport for many in Bangladesh, but allegations have surfaced that the owners have imported single deckers and then added another deck without authorisation to make more profit.
After another group of owners complained to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, the BRTA has made a list of 123 such buses, although local manufacturers say the number of double decker sleeper coaches is much higher.
The owners of these buses say it is the BRTA that gave their vehicles registration.
The buses are hauling passengers on the routes from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet and other districts.
Some of these coaches have upper and lower berths, while some have normal seats on the ground floor and sleepers on the first.
The work to build more than 50 double decker sleeper coaches is ongoing in the garages of Gabtoli, Mirpur and Aminbazar.
SN Body Builders of Gabtoli recently turned two single deck buses into double decker sleeper coaches for Baleshwar Paribahan, which operates in the southern districts.
The 12 metres front engine buses were bought from an Indian firm. The ground floors have 28 seats each and 17 sleepers on the first floor.
The Indian firm’s website says such buses have a capacity of 45 seats or 30 sleepers, but nothing is mentioned about turning them into double deckers.
Hafiz Uddin, owner of SN Body Builders, said the Baleshwar owners showed them a catalogue of an Indonesian firm, from which they designed the double deckers.
He claimed the double deckers are safe. “They underwent trial for four to five days before delivery. We tested them on bad roads roughly and tried U-turns. There was no problem and the customers were happy.”
But Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Associations, alleged the buses were illegal and vulnerable to accidents.
“We alerted the BRTA about them,” he said and claimed the double deckers do not have approval.
“Maybe someone in the BRTA gave them registration and route permits without checking them for their own interests. Now the BRTA is enquiring about the matter after we drew their attention.”
Md Morshed Ali, president of Bangladesh Automobile Body Manufacturing Association who is in the business for 44 years, claimed their buses are safe.
“Imported vehicles are used without any issues, but when we build them in Bangladesh, all the problems occur. It’s not that we do a bad job in Bangladesh. It can’t be that imported ones do not need type approval while we need it.”
He said those in charge should point out mistakes in manufacturing the bodies of the buses, if there are any.
“No one asked us about these matters. A BUET teacher recommended a law to the BRTA. We then contacted him and requested him to show us our mistakes.”
“Now I’ve heard that a list of 123 buses has been made. No one ever sent us a letter or called us. But the BRTA registered these 123 vehicles.”
Professor Ms Shamsul Hoque, a transport expert at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, thinks the BRTA will be forced to register these buses just as it was in the case of covered vans.
“It will obviously be risky if double decker buses are made from single deckers. And it should be checked if proper trials were held before allowing passenger transportation by those buses.”
Prof Shamsul criticised the BRTA. “They don’t know what their duty is. They don’t have the necessary manpower or knowledge. Disorder is everywhere. They will legalise these double deckers just like they did to the covered vans.”
Sitangshu Shekhar Bisawas, a director of BRTA, wrote to divisional offices to take legal steps against the owners of the 123 double deckers on Dec 4.
“The single decker buses have been transformed into double deckers. They are illegal and dangerous,” he said.
Asked how the buses got registration and route permits, he said they were registered as single decker buses. “The owners modified the buses afterwards.”
He said steps will be taken after inspection by the BRTA.
Courtesy:bdnews24.com
