Bicycle rally in Dhaka demanding withdrawal of tax on bicycles

On the eve of World Bicycle Day on 3rd June, today, 2nd June 2023, by withdrawing the tax imposed on bicycles and bicycle parts, demanding to keep the vehicle within the purchasable range of the common citizens of the country.

And this is to do keeping in mind that it is environment-friendly, cost-effective, foreign exchange saving, and for good health. The rally’s slogan was “Abolish the tax on bicycles.”

The rally started before the Chayanot Cultural Building in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, and ended at Jatiya Press Club via Jigatla, Science Lab, Newmarket, Neelkhet Mor, Central Shaheed Minar.

The Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh organized the rally alongside Skating 71, Carfree Cities Alliance Bangladesh, WBB Trust (Work for a Better Bangladesh), Dhaka Ideal Cadet School, Dhanmondi Tourist Cyclist, Surya Shishir, Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council, and Green Pages. Students from the Islamic University of Technology, BRAC University, Jahangirnagar University, and other universities participated in this rally.

 In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of all daily commodities, including food and fuel, are increasing worldwide. In this situation, our country’s contour country’s economy-pact due to the purchase of fuel oil at a high price. In this situation, the government could have taken the initiative to encourage cycling as a non-fuel vehicle.

But due to the government’s current fiscal policy, the eco-friendly, fuel-efficient vehicle has gone beyond the purchasing power of the common person.

It is to be noted that already there is a 58 percent tax levied on bicycle spare parts. The Government of Bangladesh has proposed a new value-added tax that will significantly increase the price of bicycles. This announcement was made on June 1, 2023, along with the fiscal year 2023-24 budget proposal.

As a result, familiar people will be discouraged from buying and using this environmentally friendly, fuel-free vehicle. The rally aimed to make bicycles more accessible to everyone by reducing taxes on their spare parts. This way, people could have a cheap, eco-friendly, and safe option for transportation.

A short speech session was held while the rally reached the Central Shaheed Minar,  Engineer, and Environmentalist Md. Mahfuzur Rahman,   Advisor of the environment and climate change online news portal ” The Green Page News,” presided over the session where the President of Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council MD. Aminul Islam Tubbus, Project Manager of Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh Barani Dalbat,  Communication Officer of Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust’s Shanjida, Principal of Dhaka Ideal Cadet School M. A. Mannan Monir, etc., gave a brief speech. Md. Mithun, assistant project officer of Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust, moderated the short speech session.

In a brief speech, the President of Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council, Md. Aminul Islam Tubbus said that a bicycle is a safe and cost-effective vehicle. Currently, Bangladesh is going through a difficult time. Like all the countries of the world, people are suffering a lot due to the rising prices of goods in our country.

Every day extra money has to be spent on commuting. People could save much money every day by using their bicycles. Reducing taxes on bicycles is essential right now. If bike lanes are introduced to encourage women to bike, everyone who bikes will benefit.

The Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh project manager Barani Dalbat welcomed all cyclists to the cycle rally. Then he gave a speech highlighting the importance of the bicycle as a vehicle for the environment.

Shanjida Akther, Bangladesh Trust, urged the government to make eco-friendly and affordable vehicles available for everyone. The air and noise pollution and the black smoke affect city dwellers’ mental and physical health when they’re outside.

He also said Dhaka’s air pollution ranked first worldwide for most of March, April, and May 2023. To prevent this escape, we need to increase the use of bicycles as non-fuel vehicles instead of fuel-powered vehicles.

The principal of Dhaka Ideal Cadet School, M. A. Mannan Monir, said there are very few opportunities for exercise in Dhaka city. In this case, cycling can be a good solution. But due to very high taxation, people cannot buy bicycles anymore. He suggested the government lower the tax on bicycle spare parts to make the vehicle more affordable for everyone.

Engineer and Environmentalist Md. In his chair speech, Mahfuzur Rahman of Green Page highlighted the importance of bicycles as a vehicle. He said bicycles are cost-effective, environment-friendly, and conducive to healthy formation. Bicycles are eco-friendly because they are fuel-free vehicles.

Cycling is an eco-friendly mode of transportation because it does not emit greenhouse gases or pollute the air with harmful metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium. Cycling improves human health by reducing individual and national health costs, increasing human performance, and leading to safer and longer lives.

According to him, some believe that the country’s current roads need to be narrower to accommodate rickshaws, vans, and automobiles, making a separate bike lane on those roads unrealistic. He said this idea is entirely wrong because as the use of bicycles increases, the pressure on public transport vehicles like buses and rickshaws will decrease. As a result, the existing roads will gradually be converted into cycle lanes instead of other cars.

Engineer and environmentalist Md. Mahfuzur Rahman also said that the major problem of using bicycles as vehicles in our country is the need for more safe parking of bicycles. Say parks, office courts, educational institutes, or kitchen markets; there is no secure parking of bicycles anywhere.

Even if there is car parking in houses and flat buildings, bicycle parking is not allowed even for children. Secure bicycle parking in busy areas such as roads, public places, schools, offices, and courts can encourage more people to use bicycles instead of cars. This could lead to an up to 80% increase in bicycles compared to cars. Back then, there was no need for separate bicycle lanes;

all roads except long roads were converted to bicycle lanes. Considering how much money our country could save in foreign currency if we shift away from using fossil fuels for vehicles and energy is astonishing. As we become more eco-friendly, we’ll depend less on fossil fuels and use sustainable options.

By saving foreign currency, we can invest in education, improve healthcare, and boost the economy. This will help us build a better nation and improve our quality of life.

Dhaka University Public Administration Department Professor, Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, Bang Ladesh Green Party Chairman SM, Farid Uddin Miyaji. They called on the government to help improve the environment and promote using bicycles as an affordable mode of transportation.

The participants of the rally concluded by thanking the cyclists for participating in the rally.