Reckless city corporation garbage trucks take 13 lives in three years

In the last three years, at least 13 people have lost their lives being hit by garbage disposal trucks of the two city corporations in Dhaka. In most cases, no action has been taken against the people involved in these accidents. Many of the city corporation drivers don’t have license to operate heavier vehicles.

According to persons involved in the transport system, urban planners and city corporation officials, basically the disarrangement of the city corporation’s waste transport system is responsible for these accidents. Several investigations into the incidents of accidents have come up with the observation that the drivers were at fault.

Even the report prepared by an investigation committee of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) itself highlighted the picture of mismanagement and irregularities in the transport department of the organisation. And there are allegations against city corporation drivers that they let outsiders drive the vehicles, allotted on their own behalf.

Lastly, a school student has been killed being hit by a garbage truck of Dhaka South City Corporation in Mugda area of the capital on Thursday night. The name of the victim student is Mahin Ahmed (13) and he was student of class seven at Ideal School and College, Motijheel.

Notre Dame College student Naeem Hasan was killed being run over by a city corporation garbage truck in Gulistan area on 24 November, 2021. The next afternoon on 25 November, journalist Ahsan Kabir Khan died the same way at Panthapath area. Students had taken to the streets demanding road safety following Naeem’s death.

Students had started a movement with the same demand in 2018 as well. Yet, the situation didn’t improve rather it became even worse than before. According to Road Safety Foundation data, a total of 6,524 people lost their lives in road accidents in the country last year. And at least 11,407 people have been injured in these accidents.

A report published on Prothom Alo in November 2021, after the death of Notre Dame College student Naeem Hasan, showed that the security guards, office assistants, mosquito eradication workers and cleaning crews of the two city corporations in Dhaka are the ones driving the heavy garbage disposal vehicles.

Instead of performing their own duties, they are driving the heavy vehicles by ‘managing’ the transport department officials. Majority of them don’t have the license to operate heavy vehicles. Even though such incidents are happening for years, the city corporation despite being aware isn’t taking any action.

It has been learnt after talking to officials of the transport pool and waste management wings of the two city corporations in Dhaka that there’s a shortage of skilled drivers even now. Some drivers have been appointed in the two cities during the past few years. Yet the number of vehicles exceeds the number of drivers.

In context of students’ protest, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on 27 November, 2021 took the decision to keep the movement of garbage trucks confined to night only. Directions were given to do the work of garbage removal between 10:00pm and 7:00am. However, the DNCC authorities did away with their duties just by giving the announcements. The garbage disposal trucks are still plying on various streets of the capital during the day.

Meanwhile, Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh in August 2020, three months after assuming office gave instructions to collect garbage from houses in the evening. According to the instructions, the overall work of waste collection in Dhaka South City Corporation area was supposed to be completed between 6:00pm and 6:00am. But this instruction is not being followed in many wards.

Dhaka South City Corporation chief executive officer Md Mizanur Rahman and chief waste management officer Mohammad Nasim Ahmed were contacted on their cellphone today, Friday to talk about this issue. But, neither of them picked up the call.

A fabric trader named Abu Tayab (26) was run over and killed by a garbage truck of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on 6 March 2023. Meanwhile, at least four people were killed in garbage truck accidents in 2022. On 2 April that year, a woman named Nasrin Khanam was killed by a DSCC garbage truck in Khilgaon area. Meanwhile on 23 January, another woman named Shikha Rani Gharami was run over by a garbage truck near Mohakhali flyover. She was a cleaner at DNCC.

In July the same year, a youth named Sabbir Ahmed was killed being hit by a garbage truck in front of Police Staff College in Mirpur area. On the night of 31 May that year, a pedestrian named Nazma Begum was run over by a DSCC garbage truck at TT Para intersection in Mugda area.

Reportedly, the garbage disposal trucks of the two city corporations in Dhaka have killed seven people in 2021. Among them, an employee at the telephone department of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Khalid was killed being hit by a DSCC garbage truck at Dayaganj intersection in Gendaria area of the capital in January. Meanwhile, a rickshaw puller was killed by a garbage truck of the south city corporation at Bibir Bagicha area in Jatrabari in April. Agitated public had set that garbage truck on fire then.

Apart from that, garbage trucks killed one person in Shahjahanpur area in May and a garments factory worker in Shyampur’s Dolairpar area on 9 August of 2021. In November, Naeem Hasan and Ahsan Kabir Khan lost their lives after the gap of just one day. Meanwhile, on 23 December of that year a man named Swapan Kumar Sarkar was killed by yet another garbage truck in Wari area.

Students with the demand of road safety continued a movement on streets from 29 July to 8 August of 2018. In context of students’ protest, a committee was formed from the prime minister’s office to bring back order on streets and to improve the traffic system. That committee had given quite a few instructions in August that year.

The committee of the prime minister’s office had given the instruction that it has be ensured that all the vehicles and employees from the agencies located in Dhaka, follow the traffic rules. Head of the agencies were directed to monitor the matter.

It was learned after talking to officials of the transport pool and waste management wings of the two city corporations in Dhaka that the drivers of the organisation have not been given any separate instruction on following traffic rules during the past six years. Rather, allegations of reckless driving have often been found against drivers of the city corporation garbage trucks.

In context of students’ protest demanding road safety, the government agencies had said that the student movement has opened their eyes. Experts however, after seeing the situation on the streets of the capital have commented that their eyes have been closed again. Lives are being wasted on the road every single day.

According to data from organisations working with road accident statistics, a major portion of the killed and injured people belonged to the working age population. As much as 13 per cent of all the people that have been killed in road accidents in the country during the last three months are students.

Transport expert and former director of the accident research institute from Bangladesh University of engineering and Technology (BUET), professor Md Hadiuzzaman remarked that the city corporation garbage trucks have been posed as new killers. These are not accidents rather negligence-induced murders.

He added that all types of mismanagements are present in the city corporation garbage disposal trucks. These heavy vehicles neither have fitness nor skilled drivers. If accountability cannot be ensured on the part of the city corporations, the number of such accidents would rise even higher.