The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on Wednesday conducted an awareness drive at institutions, mills, factories and freight company depots near International Islamic University Chittagong in Sitakunda, urging better vehicle maintenance, orderly parking and compliance with traffic laws.

Held between 11am and 5:30pm under the direction of the Chattogram deputy commissioner and the BRTA’s Chattogram divisional director, and with the support of the Sitakunda upazila executive officer, the drive was led by Executive Magistrate Dipak Tripura of Mobile Court-11 of the BRTA’s Chattogram divisional office.

Also present were S M Helal Uddin, sub-assistant land officer at the Bhatiari Union Land Office; Md Aminuzzaman, sub-inspector at Bar Aulia Highway Police Station; Md Mujib, sub-inspector at Sitakunda Model Police Station; and other BRTA officials.

Those responsible for vehicles at Total Gas Company, KDS and other establishments near the university were advised to exercise greater caution in driving and parking.

Alongside the awareness campaign, authorities heard 15 on-the-spot cases under the Road Transport Act 2018 and collected Tk 55,000 in fines. The offences included plying vehicles without route permits, fitness certificates or tax tokens, driving recklessly, and parking haphazardly. Convicted drivers and vehicle owners were also warned and urged to mend their ways.