Road transport and bridges, railways and shipping minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said on Monday that the government was not fully certain whether journeys during the forthcoming Eid-ul-Azha holidays would be comfortable.
At a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital, Dhaka, the minister said that garment factory owners had been urged to close their factories in phases three days before Eid, which will be celebrated later this month, and that they had agreed to the request.
‘But we are not 100 per cent sure because they [the factory owners] failed
to close their factories in phases during Eid-ul-Fitr,’ he said, adding, ‘so there is a fear of the same situation this time as well due to possible traffic congestion.’
The press briefing was held after the Road Transport and Highways Division on the day organised a meeting to ensure safe and smooth travel of passengers on the roads on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha at the division’s conference room at the secretariat.
Officials from different ministries concerned and leaders of transport owners and workers’ associations attended the meeting with the minister.
Rabiul mentioned that during Eid-ul-Fitr, which was celebrated late March, 170 people were killed in road accidents.
‘On highways, 43 people were killed while the rest were killed on Local Government Engineering Department roads,’ he said, adding, ‘but I had to answer for all 170 people.’
Replying to a question, the minister said that ultimately the liability of the road accident deaths falls on the state.
‘Now, you may not know LGED that well; they are not needed,’ he said, adding, ‘journalists understand that the responsibility of the road transport ministry includes ensuring road safety. For this, I have to be accountable.’
The minister further said that he would not be responsible for any faults in roads constructed by LGED.
It is worth mentioning that most of fatal road accidents in Bangladesh are caused by unskilled drivers, reckless driving and unfit vehicles, which are regulated by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority under the road ministry.
The minister also said that about 1.5 crore people would leave Dhaka before Eid this year, while about one crore cattle would be transported on the roads.
Replying to a question, he said that there was no scope for extortion during the forthcoming Eid journeys.
‘But it is difficult for us to control several lakh of people boarding transports from the middle of roads,’ he said.
To monitor the roads, the government would engage 69 mobile courts, highway police, BRTA team and other stakeholders concerned.
The ministry has also urged the local government, rural development and co-operatives ministry not to lease any space on and beside the highways for any cattle market.
Decisions have also been made to open and operate a central control room at the BRTA headquarters in the capital between May 20 and 31, stop movement of vehicles without updated fitness certificates, deploy Border Guard Bangladesh at important toll plazas and points seven days before and three days after Eid, and operate dope test for the drivers.
As per the highway police, out of the 94 traffic congestion-prone spots, 25 spots are on the Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur national highway, another 25 on the Dhaka-Chattogram national highway, 21 on the Dhaka-Sylhet national highway, seven on the Dhaka-Mymensingh national highway, seven on the Dhaka-Aricha national highway, eight on the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar national highway and one on the Dhaka-Barishal national highway.
The briefing was attended, among others, by state minister for railways and Road Transport and Highways Division Habibur Rashid, RTHD secretary Mohammed Ziaul Haque and lawmaker and Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal chief coordinator Shamsur Rahman Shimul.
