Three ministers concerned are yet to sit together even one month after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives to monitor the traffic management system and hold meetings from time to time, sources said.
The Prime Minister in a cabinet meeting on June 25 directed home, road transport and shipping ministers to monitor the traffic management system and hold meetings from time to time for implementing her directives.
She gave some 15 directives following an increase in road accidents across the country, especially during the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation.
Though the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) held a meeting on July 03 to devise a work plan for executing PM's directives, sources said, it was an internal meeting. No minister was invited to the meeting.
Despite the death of three students in two road accidents following the PM's directives, no meeting has yet been convened.
On an average, three to four people were killed in road accidents in the country during the last one month.
But the death of three students in last one week triggered protests due to cruelty of drivers and helpers.
Saidur Rahman Payel, a student of North South University, died recently when transport workers threw him into a river. He was injured seriously while getting on a Dhaka-bound bus of Hanif Paribahan.
Besides, two students of Ramiz Uddin College Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib were run over by a speeding bus at Airport Road when they were waiting for a bus on the roadside on Sunday.
Transport experts alleged that such a situation continued as the authorities concerned had not taken proper steps to prevent road accidents even after the Prime Minister gave directives.
Prof Shamsul Haque of Civil Engineering Department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology said the PM's directives prove that none of the authorities concerned has taken the issue seriously.
He said an example has already been set in city's Gulshan and Hatijheel areas where a single company-system bus is performing without making trouble to people.
"It is clear from most road accidents that an unhealthy competition among bus drivers and operators persist in the country. But one side blames drivers and another side tries to save them. But Strategic Transport Plan has clearly directed to introduce a company bus system on a single route to avert this kind of competition as well as accident," he said.
Transports experts, however, felt the need of the Prime Minister's follow-up action in this regard.
However, this is not first time negligence of the ministers was shown.
Earlier in 2013, a special cabinet committee was formed with 10 leading ministers to execute different road safety related steps through coordination. This effort was made to ensure political commitment.
Though the meetings of the committee with the then communication minister were held twice, the ministers later delegated the secretaries to continue the meetings.
Not a single decision taken during the meetings was executed nor a single meeting was held by the secretaries afterward, sources added.
The ministers were chosen based on the ministries' direct and indirect involvement in ensuring road safety. But the meeting reconstituted the cabinet committee with seven ministries land, shipping, rail, finance, home and rural development and cooperatives.
In absence of seriousness to prevent road accidents and control them, the number of accident-related deaths has been increasing every year. During January to June 2018, some 3,026 people were killed and 8,520 injured in 2,860 road accidents.
- Courtesy: The Financial Express/ Aug 01, 2018
