PMO issues directives to ensure road safety
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has issued a set of directives asking the authorities concerned to take measures including keeping doors of moving buses closed and stopping getting in and down of passengers without stoppage to ensure road safety in the capital.
The directives came from a meeting of the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) of the PMO on “Development of Traffic System in Dhaka City” held at the PMO on Thursday.
Prime minister’s principal secretary Md Nojibur Rahman chaired the meeting while GIU deputy director Mohammad Ali Newaz Russell made a power-point presentation here.
The directives were given about transport management, road management, fitness and license of vehicles and dissemination of government steps through mass media.
Among the directives, the government asked the authorities concerned to take up measures to keep doors of all public transports always closed while moving and stop getting in and down of passengers without stoppage.
The directives also included showing names of driver and helper with pictures, driving license and mobile numbers at two noticeable places at vehicles by 20 August, keeping up all activities of Traffic Week until next directive and introducing remote-controlled automatic electric signalling system in Dhaka city.
The decisions also include making mandatory the wearing of helmets by the motorcycle riders and riding highest two persons on a motorbike as well as compelling them to abide by all traffic rules including signals.
Directives also asked the drivers of passenger vehicles, especially long-distance buses, to fasten seat belts along with making arrangements for introducing seat belts in the vehicles for the passengers. Legal steps will be taken against those who will breach the law.
Besides, the meeting took a decision to take effective steps to completely stop crossing of roads by the pedestrians in all roads of the capital within hundred metres of the foot-over bridges or underpasses. If possible, those citizens who are respectable to the law can be conferred upon ‘thanks’ or ‘laudable’ words.
The meeting also decided to take steps so that the citizens feel motivated to use various city establishments with ease and comfort like ensuring necessary cleaning and security at the foot-over bridges and underpasses, necessary lights at the underpasses, installation of CCTVs and mirrors outside the underpasses.
Apart from these, directives have also been issued to make visible the zebra crossings and road signs in all the roads of the capital, freeing the footpaths from the hawkers and the roads from illegal parking and illegal structures.
The name plates of all the roads will have to be installed in a visible place.
The meeting also decided to take effective steps to introduce automatic electric signalling system side by side with preventing the movement over the road dividers through raising the height of all road dividers in the capital.
The meeting on improving the traffic system in Dhaka city also took a decision to deploy mobile courts, ensure presence of the members of law enforcement agencies and check the fitness of vehicles and driving licenses on random sampling basis in at least two places to and from Mahakhali flyover to Farmgate.
Besides, initiatives will have to be taken to make arrangements for crossing of roads by the students with the help of the senior students, scouts, and BNCC just before and after the school hour in coordination with all educational institutions in the capital.
The education ministry will give necessary directives in this regard.
Regarding the fitness and license of vehicles, the meeting decided to take steps against illegal transports, and in case of providing fitness certificates to the vehicles, the concerned authorities will have to take fruitful steps after inspecting the vehicles, scrutinising the possibility of speedily “crash” the route-permit less/unfit vehicles.
The authorities will have to expedite the process for distributing licenses and in this case, driving test can be taken before providing the ‘learner’ license while the successfully passed out candidates can be provided with licenses with the shortest possible time.
If there is any shortage of officials and employees, then those could be fulfilled through the concerned authorities.
For ensuring all-out publicity of these measures before the common people, steps will have to be taken to ensure wide-range coverage of these decisions in the mass media. About the contents, the directives could be taken from the PMO, if necessary.
Besides, various directives have already been given to the different ministries and divisions over the ongoing activities to restore discipline and road safety on the roads and highways.
Meanwhile, the principal secretary to the prime minister, chief coordinator on SDG affairs at the PMO, senior secretary of the local government division, PMO secretary, roads and highways division secretary, CEOs of Dhaka north and Dhaka south city corporations, DG (admin) PMO, DG (GIU) PMO will inspect various points from the airport road to Nagar Bhaban Saturday.
All the concerned offices will send their “quick win”, short-term, mid-term and long-term plans to the PMO within a very short time.
The GIU will review again the already undertaken steps for improving the traffic system as well as addressing the traffic jam in the capital and thus place a report again before the PM’s principal secretary.