This new year has come as a breath of fresh air for Dhaka residents, with polluting two-stroke three-wheelers being banned from the city from January 1. Altogether, 6,500 baby-taxis, 500 auto-tempos and 250 auto-trucks have been removed from the roads.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police have been instructed to keep vigil and prevent any errant vehicle from plying.
The movement of polluting vehicles will, however, be allowed outside the metropolitan area.
Although Dhaka residents hope that the air quality in the city will improve, they also fear that they will have to face a transport crisis if alternative methods of commuting are not made available soon.
Most of the polluting three-wheelers have been shipped to the suburbs and other major towns of Bangladesh, where pollution bans have not been enforced as yet.
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