The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways and Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF)on Tuesday demanded to conduct drives against all types of illegal vehicles, including buses without route permits, and unlicensed and under-aged drivers to prevent road accidents and save lives during upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
For this reason, the two organisations have called for the immediate start of mobile court drives on all roads, highways, inter-district roads and regional roads across the country, including the capital Dhaka and port city Chattragram, UNB reports.
National committee president Mohammad Shahid Mia and SCRF General Secretary Lion Mohd Jahangir Alam made this call in a joint statement to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
The statement also urged the police, traffic police, highway police and district administration to play a strict role against illegal vehicles and law breakers, including unlicensed and minor drivers.
Expressing deep concern over the regular road accidents and serial casualties in different parts of the country, the statement said, though accidents and unexpected deaths often occur on the roads and highways, there is no visible effort by the concerned quarters to establish accident risk-free roads.
In the statement, the leaders of the national committee and SCRF said that at various times in the near past, responsible officials of the government, including the road transport minister, blamed faulty and illegal vehicles and unskilled and unlicensed drivers for the accidents.
But during their rule, the government agencies concerned did not take effective steps against these irregularities and mismanagement.
As a result, roads and highways have become very risky.
The statement also warned all authorities concerned, including the ministry of road transport, police administration and BRTA, to prevent a repeat of deadly accidents during Eid trip like in the past.
