94 killed in 260 accidents in one year

Casualties and the number of accidents on the only expressway of the country are rising. As many as 94 people were killed in 260 road crashes on the expressway within just one year of the inauguration. Speeding vehicles, unskilled drivers without licences, unfit vehicles and reckless motorcycles are the main reasons behind the accidents on the Dhaka-Bhanga expressway, the people concerned say.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has urged the police to increase vigilance to curb the number of accidents on the expressway. And the police are stressing on setting up CCTV cameras. At the same time, they also emphasised on increasing manpower and other facilities in the highway police stations.

Most recently, on Saturday, seven people of a family were killed after the tyres of the ambulance carrying them burst on the Manigram flyover of the expressway. The driver of the ambulance also died in the accident

Earlier, on 19 March, 19 were killed after a bus lost control and fell off the expressway.    

The total length of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman road from the capital’s Jatrabari area to Bhanga in Faridpur is 55 kilometres.

The length of the expressway from Jatrabari to the Padma Bridge is 32 kilometres and from Zajira to Bhanga is 23 kilometres. According to figures of Madaripur highway police and Munshiganj roads department, as many as 94 people were killed in 260 road accidents on the expressway since the inauguration of the Padma Bridge.

Of them, 26 were killed in 211 accidents on the Dhaka-Mawa portion of the expressway and 68 were killed on the Zajira-Bhanga portion in 49 accidents. Although the number of accidents on the Zajira-Bhanga portion is less, casualties are high. Of the 68 people killed in this portion, 34 were killed in four major accidents.

Speaking regarding the reasons behind the accidents on the expressway, Md Shamsul Haque, director of the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), says, “Accidents are likely if the vehicles running on a high-speed infrastructure are unfit or if the drivers are not efficient. If the drivers don’t abide by the traffic signals, it would be a disaster on the expressway.”

Therefore, it is important to check the drivers’ efficiency and the fitness of the vehicles to avoid such disasters.

According to the sources in the Madaripur highway police, they have filed some 39,417 cases and fined a total of Tk 137.3 million. Most of the speeding cases were recorded on the Zajira-Bhanga portion of the expressway. The number of cases filed for speeding on this portion of the expressway is 13,887.

Mentioning that it is the responsibility of the highway police to prevent road accidents, Md Imran Khan, assistant director of Faridpur BRTA, told Prothom Alo police vigilance should be increased to prevent road accidents. Besides, motorcycles should not be allowed to ply on the expressway, he added.

Superintendent of highway police in Madaripur, Mahbubul Alam stressed on setting up CCTV cameras. At the same time he also emphasised on increasing manpower and logistic support in the highway police stations.

“Police alone cannot prevent road accidents without an integrated effort,” the police official said.

Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation’s joint general secretary Jubayer Zakir claimed that the BRTA or the highway police always try to blame “speeding vehicles” whenever an accident occurs to avoid their liabilities.

He says some 95 per cent of the public transports, which are being operated in 21 districts since the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, do not have route permits. These vehicles are plying on the roads illegally by managing the concerned authorities.

Shaheen Alam of Ambikapur area in Faridpur city regularly travels from Faridpur to Dhaka through the Padma Bridge. He says, “Everyone (passengers) wants to speed. Nobody wants to wait. When a vehicle overtakes, the passengers raise their voice. Again, they rebuke the driver whenever he drives fast. In all, a very confusing situation emerges. Therefore, the number of accidents is rising.”

Mentioning that both police and BRTA should increase monitoring, Faridpur Nagarik Mancha president Awlad Hossain told Prothom Alo, “The accidents are on rise due to appointing incompetent drivers, unfit vehicles and movement of motorcycles on the expressway. The transport owners prefer unlicensed and incompetent drivers as the amount of fine is much higher in case of a licensed driver. Besides, the drivers are forced to drive 16 hours a day instead of 8 hours.”

He thinks that it is necessary to install CCTV cameras and arrange for monitoring and fines to prevent accidents on the expressway.

The roads department of Munshiganj is in charge of maintenance of the expressway. Speaking to Prothom Alo, Nahin Reza, executive engineer of the Munshiganj roads department, said, “Apart from over speeding, using non-tempered tyres is also causing accidents. The highest speed limit on this road is 80 kilometres per hour. However, the vehicles are running at a speed of 120-130 kilometres per hour. It’s not possible to control the vehicle at such a speed in case the tyre bursts or something else happens. As a result, the number of accidents on the expressway is increasing.”

He further said, “The works are underway to set up CCTV cameras on the Dhaka-Mawa portion of the expressway. The works to set up CCTV cameras on the Zajira-Bhanga portion will start later.”

He hopes that it would be possible to curb road accidents on the expressway once the work on setting up CCTV cameras is complete.

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu