Road crashes kill 39,522 in five years: BJKS study
5th anniv of students' movement for safe roads observed
Saturday, 29 July 2023
FE REPORT
Road accidents have claimed 39,522 lives in the country in the past five years as the government's promise of safer roads has not yet been fulfilled.
Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS), a passenger welfare platform, conducted a survey that showed at least 28,299 road accidents took place since 2018 where 58,791 people were injured.
Among the injured, 3,941 were students.
The platform presented the analysis at a function on Friday marking the 5th anniversary of the young students' movement for safe roads.
Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, general secretary of the BJKS, said the Awami League government promised safe roads in its election manifesto after the largest movement of young students in the country's history in 2018.
"Although the government accepted all the demands of the safe road activists, none of them have been implemented in the past five years," he lamented.
As a result, many fresh lives are lost on the road every day. Traffic congestions eat up thousands of working hours of the commuters.
When the government's plan is underway, plying of unfit vehicles and small vehicles, especially motorcycles, easy-bikes, battery-powered rickshaws and auto-rickshaws is increasing uncontrollably, he mentioned.
"At the same time, even though deaths in road accidents are on the rise, as if the government is joking with the people by giving false and misleading information that road accidents and deaths are decreasing," he added.
In the statement, he also said the new Road Transport Act 2018 was passed hastily in view of the demands of the students.
"But due to various obstacles from the transport owners and workers and implementation of this law in the old way, the desired results are not coming in this sector," the BJKS chief added.
The safe road movement of students has opened up eyes of the policymakers who said they are slowly falling asleep again, he observed. As a result, mismanagement has increased recklessly.
He also demanded immediate withdrawal of all the cases filed in connection with students' agitation for safe roads.
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