Take action against those responsible for poor road transport system

The deplorable state of the country's road transport system has remained unchanged even during the pandemic. The concerned departments of the government may make excuses of the coronavirus crisis if asked about their duties regarding the condition.

In fact, the road transport administration has collapsed. They cannot even ensure minimum discipline. They are totally nonchalant about even basic matters such as training drivers or ensuring that drivers and passengers fasten their seat belts.

People are going out less nowadays due to coronavirus as well as increased bus fares. There had been a virtual lockdown for a long time. But even in this situation, 1,205 road accidents have taken place in the five months from March to July. There were more than 700 accidents in the previous two months. Of the 2,482 deaths in seven months, less than 1,000 died in January and February. More than 300 people on an average were killed in road crashes every month. The number of injured in road accidents in these seven months is about 4,000. A significant number of people among the casualties were the sole breadwinners of their families.

What is happening in the name of compensation for the deaths is nothing but a joke. The death toll in coronavirus has exceeded 3,800 in five and a half months. Among the affected people who have recovered, they will all be employed, with a few exceptions. But the state of the roads is horrible.

The impact of road accidents on the economy or family of the country is very severe. The state policy of compensation for government officials and employees killed and injured in coronavirus has been effective already. But the people who are the victims of road accidents do not receive any compensation. Before pandemic, the chairman of the road transport authorities told us the draft rules for compensation were almost final. They were unable to pay compensation due to absence of rules at the time.

As we know, there is no progress in this regard. There are only promises in the road transport sector, nothing else. However, the way in which the current compensation law has been framed to protect the interests of the owners, it raises the question of how much the compensation rules will benefit the people. It is time to seek a judicial remedy on an urgent basis against the government's indifference in this matter.

The administration has not been able to implement the directive given by prime minister Sheikh Hasina two years ago to build restrooms beside the highways and keep two drivers for long route vehicles. The number of vehicles in the country is 4.4 million while the total number of drivers is 3.2 million. According to the official data, 1.4 million of them have no licences. Licence renewal is closed right now. On the other hand, registration of new vehicles has been going on. That means the administration is encouraging illegal activities.

Overall, we believe the people involved in road management need to be accountable. Each of them knows their duty. So it is easy to find out who failed to perform which duty.

The concerned officials seemed to deliberately neglect their duties which has led to anarchy, corruption and consequently a permanent death trap in the sector. So there is a systematic killing going on through public transport. It is imperative to immediately ensure accountability for how the five directives of the prime minister in 2017 (the 33-point directive given by the cabinet committee at the same time were not carried out) were ignored for two years. In order to end the stalemate in road transport sector, the government must take exemplary action against those who are responsible.