Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Approach roads to Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge have turned into a death-trap as fatal accidents continue to take place there every time with the increased number of deaths and injuries.
But police stationed at two outposts on both ends of the bridge including highway police are not visible often at those places when accidents are taking place for lack of disciplining of vehicles driving recklessly without care to passengers’ life.
Even accidents are taking place frequently on the main bridge creating safety hazard to the main bridge structure which could be held in check if police were performing duty at designated spots.
“Accidents have become regular feature on the connecting roads to the bridge and its main conduit raising a serious safety concern to passengers’ life,” Prof Md. Shamsul Hoque, a Transportation and Safety Expert, told The New Nation on Sunday.
Referring to a study, he said, average 100 accidents are taking place each year on the approach roads to the bridge and mishaps clustered very highly at certain locations.
“The ‘black spots’ have already been identified, but no remedial measure is yet in sight, leading to fatal accidents every year with the increased number of deaths and injuries,” said Prof Hoque.
Prof Hoque said that the rates of accidents and casualties are high on the East approach than West approach and main accidents are concentrated at 4 locations within 4.8 kilometer (km) of entire bridge length.
The connecting roads leading to the bridge are 16 km from the East side and 17 km from the West.
In the East, the approach road connects to the existing Tangail-Madhupur road near Elenga and in the West, it joins the Hatikamrul-Sirajganj road at new Nakla Bridge.
“Excess pressure of vehicles, reckless driving, unfit vehicles, fatigue of the drivers, poor visibility during foggy weather and slow-moving three-wheelers are the main causes for the accidents,” said Prof Shamsul Hoque, adding, “Since there are only two narrow lanes each side of the bridge, the risk of an accident is also very high on the bridge”.
Furthermore, he said, the on-duty police are not active in maintaining the traffic on the approach roads to the bridge which is another major cause for accidents.
“People are dying for poor traffic management and negligence by police. But the concerned department is yet to come up for stringent measures against them. The Bridge Authorities should be held responsible for the anarchy and deaths,” he added.
Referring to Saturday’s unprecedented accidents on both sides of the bridge, Prof Shamsul Hoque said that at least nine people were killed and 50 others injured in 2.30 hours time between 7am and 9.30am.
The first accident took place at the end of East approach road on the bridge around 7am as dense fog and poor visibility. It was followed by three to four accidents that left five dead and 30 injured.
Prof Hoque said that police should have been alerted just after the very first accident in order to prevent more casualties. But they did not do their duty leading to more accidents.
According to Sirajganj district police, at least 458 people were killed and more than 2000 injured in accidents on the Western approach since inception of the bridge.
“Most of the accidents are off carriageway type including hitting objects and highly clustered at few sites with the significant involvement of heavy vehicles, particularly trucks,” Wasim Ali, an assistant engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), told The New Nation on Sunday.
He said accidents are taking place on the road segments of national highways consisting of the bridge and its approach roads raising a great safety concern.
“Reckless driving along with narrow lanes is responsible for the frequent accident,” said Ali.
Brushing aside the allegation of poor traffic and bridge management by BBA, he however, claimed that they are working round the clock to ensure traffic order and safety maintenance on the bridge.
Meanwhile, police are yet file any case over the Saturday’s accidents on the bridge.
