'394 killed in 377 accidents during Eid journey'

A total of 377 accidents occurred on the country’s roads, railways, and waterways during the holy Eid-ul-Fitr travel period. These incidents left 394 people dead and 1,288 injured. Of these, 351 people were killed in 346 road accidents alone.

The Passengers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh disclosed these figures at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) auditorium in the capital at 11:00 am today, Monday. The report was prepared by the association’s Road Accident Monitoring Cell based on a review of various media reports.

The association said that when compared with casualty analyses from the ongoing Iran–Israel–United States war over the past 15 days, the number of casualties from road accidents in Bangladesh is significantly higher.

The report was presented at the press conference by the association’s Secretary General, Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury.

According to the report, during the 15-day period from 14 March—the start of Eid journey—to 28 March, when people returned to workplaces after Eid, 351 people were killed and 1,046 injured in 346 road accidents. During Eid-ul-Fitr in 2025, a total of 322 people were killed and 826 injured in 315 road accidents. Compared to the previous year, road accidents increased by 8.95 per cent, fatalities by 8.26 per cent, and injuries by 21 per cent this Eid.

During the same period, 35 people were killed and 223 injured in 23 railway accidents. On waterways, 8 accidents left 8 people dead, 19 injured, and 3 missing. Meanwhile, 2,178 people injured in road accidents were admitted to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR).

The report states that motorcycles once again topped the list of accidents. During this Eid, 135 people were killed and 114 injured in 125 motorcycle accidents, accounting for approximately 36.12 per cent of total road accidents, 38.46 per cent of deaths, and 10.89 per cent of injuries.
According to the association’s analysis, among the vehicles involved in accidents, 27.16 per cent were motorcycles, 17.73 per cent trucks and covered vans, 16.22 per cent buses, 15.28 per cent battery-powered rickshaws, 8.49 per cent private cars and microbuses, 7.73 per cent Nasimon-Karimon (locally made vehicles), and 7.35 per cent CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

An analysis of accident locations shows that 43 per cent occurred on national highways, 30 per cent on regional highways, and 22 per cent on feeder roads.

At the press conference, the association’s Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said that, due to pressure from old bureaucrats and leaders of bus owners’ associations and workers’ federations aligned with previous mafia groups and supported by the current government, no representatives of civil society were included in the Eid management meetings to speak on behalf of passengers.