M M Jasim :
About 40,000 secondary schools and madrasa are going to hold rallies in their respective schools to create awareness among the students about road safety across the country on October 22.
A good number of schools and madrasa are situated just next to roads and highways. Students need to cross these everyday for attending classes.
The authorities of the secondary educational institutions said that they would hold the massive awareness campaign following the Education Ministry’s direction on road safety.
The government took the initiative when a number of road accidents and causalities were rising alarmingly high though the road safety directives were given at different times by the High Court, administration, law enforcement agencies and even by the Prime Minister.
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) already sent directives to about 20500 secondary schools and many other madrasas to hold a rally on October 22 with
participation from all students and teachers to create awareness on road safety. DSHE Assistant Director Jakir Hossain told The New Nation that the students and teachers were asked to show placards inscribed with slogans to make people aware about road safety. “We think that awareness campaign will help students and countrymen to recognise road safety issues and inspire all to follow traffic rules,” he said. There are 1.03 crore students and about 2.44 lakh teachers at schools across the country.
In June 2016, highway police identified 292 accident-prone spots on highways, risky turnings, wayside feeder roads and trees and absence of traffic signs and symbols.
People’s death in road accidents, mainly due to reckless driving by untrained and unskilled drivers, has become a daily phenomenon. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority based on first information reports of the police, shows that in 2017, 2,513 people were killed and 1,898 injured in 2,562 accidents. In 2016, the number of road accidents was 2,566, that of deaths 2,463 and that of injured people 2,134, the data shows.
Lack of service roads, underpasses, overpasses and alternative transports are important reason behind fatal highway accidents involving illegal three-wheeler, slow-moving and non-motorised vehicles in the country, road safety campaigners and experts say.
Reckless driving and lack of awareness on the part of the road users also play an important role behind these accidents, they pointed out.
According to World Health Organisation, in Bangladesh about 21,000 people are killed in road accidents every year.
Students, mostly from schools and colleges, took to the streets across the country campaigning for a safe road between July 29 and August 8 as they demonstrated against a bus accident that killed two teens.
Students marched through city streets demanding to see people’s driving licenses and parading through the streets chanting “we want justice.” The government shut down high schools.
The government also promised the students to consider the students’ demand on road safety issue.
About 40,000 secondary schools and madrasa are going to hold rallies in their respective schools to create awareness among the students about road safety across the country on October 22.
A good number of schools and madrasa are situated just next to roads and highways. Students need to cross these everyday for attending classes.
The authorities of the secondary educational institutions said that they would hold the massive awareness campaign following the Education Ministry’s direction on road safety.
The government took the initiative when a number of road accidents and causalities were rising alarmingly high though the road safety directives were given at different times by the High Court, administration, law enforcement agencies and even by the Prime Minister.
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) already sent directives to about 20500 secondary schools and many other madrasas to hold a rally on October 22 with
participation from all students and teachers to create awareness on road safety. DSHE Assistant Director Jakir Hossain told The New Nation that the students and teachers were asked to show placards inscribed with slogans to make people aware about road safety. “We think that awareness campaign will help students and countrymen to recognise road safety issues and inspire all to follow traffic rules,” he said. There are 1.03 crore students and about 2.44 lakh teachers at schools across the country.
In June 2016, highway police identified 292 accident-prone spots on highways, risky turnings, wayside feeder roads and trees and absence of traffic signs and symbols.
People’s death in road accidents, mainly due to reckless driving by untrained and unskilled drivers, has become a daily phenomenon. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority based on first information reports of the police, shows that in 2017, 2,513 people were killed and 1,898 injured in 2,562 accidents. In 2016, the number of road accidents was 2,566, that of deaths 2,463 and that of injured people 2,134, the data shows.
Lack of service roads, underpasses, overpasses and alternative transports are important reason behind fatal highway accidents involving illegal three-wheeler, slow-moving and non-motorised vehicles in the country, road safety campaigners and experts say.
Reckless driving and lack of awareness on the part of the road users also play an important role behind these accidents, they pointed out.
According to World Health Organisation, in Bangladesh about 21,000 people are killed in road accidents every year.
Students, mostly from schools and colleges, took to the streets across the country campaigning for a safe road between July 29 and August 8 as they demonstrated against a bus accident that killed two teens.
Students marched through city streets demanding to see people’s driving licenses and parading through the streets chanting “we want justice.” The government shut down high schools.
The government also promised the students to consider the students’ demand on road safety issue.
