Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said the condition of roads is better than any time before. The sufferings of the people should be less if there was consistency between reality and what the minister said. But the way the pressure of homebound people is increasing on the road, railway and waterways, it can be assumed that travelling as much a hassle as before.
Every year old buses and launches, with new coats of paint, are brought back into operation immediately before Eid. No one checks whether the vehicles are fit or the drivers have licences. Unfit vehicles are brought to the roads just to manage the pressure of additional passengers as the number of passengers increase manifold. The government does not take up any work plan to manage this additional passengers. Concerned people and organisations become active when problems become acute or if there is any accident. Experience says errors and weakness in management planning increase people’s sufferings even if the condition of roads is improved.
The number of homebound is higher this time due to decrease in coronavirus cases. Taking this opportunity, a section of transport owners have been increasing the fare, though fares are decreased before such celebrations in developed countries. Repair work on the roads were going on for the last few months. The sufferings of people would have been less if the work could have been completed before the beginning of Eid journey. Two flyovers on Dhaka-Tangail road have been opened though the work is yet to be completed.
Adding 30 metre-gauge and 16 broad-gauge locomotives in the railway before the Eid is a positive step. On the other hand, people had to wait for hours for tickets at Kamalapur rail station. Those who got the ticket considered themselves lucky but what would happen to those who did not get any ticket? Let’s find out a scientific method through which people can buy train, bus and launch tickets from home.
There is extreme chaos and indiscipline in our road transport system. Drivers run the vehicles recklessly for the sake of more profit which is a reason of road accidents. Besides, accidents take place as vehicles of different speed operate on the same road. This year passengers faced a hitch as the trains did not leave on the first two days during the Eid journey. At the same time, many people are riding on the roofs of trains. As a result, there could be accidents at any time. The probability of accidents has risen as overloaded launches have been leaving Dhaka for different destinations. But most worrying in this Eid is ferry crossing. Hundreds of vehicles get stranded on either side due to ferry delays. The authorities are not seen taking any steps despite the recurrence of the same experience every year.
Maybe the potholed roads cannot be repaired overnight and new buses, launches and ferries cannot be brought into operation. But the journey could be made relatively hassle-free by increasing patrolling and surveillance on roads, railway and waterways. We think the sufferings of homebound people and their return journey could be decreased significantly, if not wholly, if everyone concerned abide by the rules.