BSS, Rajshahi :
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has earned revenue worth around Taka 769 crore in Rajshahi region in last 2012-13 fiscal year.
Besides, the state-run organization has earned Taka 625 crore as revenue in the first nine months of the current 2013-14 fiscal. Simultaneously, it has given training to 5,800 drivers.
The observation came at a daylong seminar styled “Improving competence and awareness of professional drivers” held here on Sunday. BRTA’s Rajshahi Regional Office and District Administration jointly organized the seminar.
BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam addressed the seminar as chief guest with Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury in the chair.
Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Barrister Mahbubur Rahman, Additional District Magistrate Zakir Hossain, BRTA Deputy Director Sirajul Islam, President of District Truck Owners Association Sadrul Islam and President of District Motor Shramik Union Kamal Hossain Rabi also spoke.
BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam told the meeting that the government has taken initiative to launch training institute in all districts of the country to bring the drivers under training and refreshers training round the year.
Measures have also been taken to incorporate the issue of road accidents and its causes and prevention in the course-curriculum from next year besides, various other programs to reduce the country’s road accidents by 50 percent within the next 15 years, he added.
He said the country experiences over 5,000 road accidents every year claiming over 4,000 lives and injuries scores others. The total loss of properties in the accidents is estimated over Taka 5000 crore which is 2 percent of the country’s total GDP.
In addition to creating wide-ranging mass-awareness, strict enforcement of traffic rules has become an urgent need to reduce road accidents. All the authorities concerned should come forward and work together to mitigate the national problem.
More than 500 persons comprising government officials, human right activists, leaders of road transport workers and representatives of transport owners associations were present at the seminar.
