SM Mizanur Rahman :Country’s roads and highways have virtually become the death traps as road crash is taking away peoples’ lives everyday due to reckless driving, plying of unfit vehicles and lack of monitoring.People of all categories — from high profile ones to the common men–are meeting the tragic end of their lives under the very nose of authority concerned.On Thursday alone, at least 23 people including seven members of a family were killed and many others injured in four separate road accidents in Gazipur, Tangail, Sylhet and Brahmanbaria districts. Of them, eight people were killed in Gazipur, nine in Tangail, four in Sylhet and two in Brahmanbaria.The highways police are the custodian of enforcing traffic rules but they are poorly manned and operating under serious dearth of logistics. Highways police sources say they have very few speed detectors to monitor speed limit of vehicles across the country. “As almost all drivers drive their buses, coaches and other vehicles recklessly a significant number of people are being killed every day in road accidents both in the cities as well as in the highways across the country,” Mallick Faqrul Islam, Deputy Inspector General of Highway Police told The New Nation on Thursday.He said they have filed over 700 cases against the drivers and transport owners due to reckless driving and plying of unfit vehicles since July 19 to till July 21. “Of them 400 cases have been filed against the drivers as they violated traffic rules and drove their vehicles recklessly,” Mallick Fakrul said. He added there is also still not yet arrangement to provide emergency treatment among the accident victims, resulting in deaths of many injured.In Gazipur, eight people, including three kids and a driver, were killed as a Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train smashed a CNG run autorickshaw at Haidarabad level-crossing in the city on Thursday afternoon.According to police and eye witnesses the Dhaka-bound Demu train hit the autorickshaw at about 2.30 pm when it tried to cross the rail line. “I saw an autorickshaw just passing by me to cross the rail line and I heard a bang. I along with many local people rushed to the spot and saw the deadly scene. It can’t be narrated in words as the train taking the autorickshaw about one kilometer away from the spot. There was no signalman at the level crossing. All the people died on the spot,” Mohammad Abdul Mazed, a witness of Samantapur village of the district told this reporter.The deceased are garment workers Shah Alam, his wife Piyara Begum, three children, cousin Al Amin and brother-in-law and driver. In Tangail, a fatal road accident at Patkhaguri in Bashail upazila in the district left at least nine people dead and many injured on Thursday afternoon. The accident occurred when a Dhaka-bound bus of ‘Binimoy Paribahan’ fell into a roadside ditch killing five passengers on the spot. The four others succumbed to their injuries while they were taking to hospital, Officer-in-Charge of Gorai Highway Police Station Humayan Kabir said.The death toll may rise as the conditions of many passengers are stated to be critical, hospital sources said.According to witnesses the Dhaka-bound bus fell into the road side water-filled ditch after its driver lost control over the steering around 3:30pm, leaving five people dead on the spot.On information, police and fire fighters rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation.In Sylhet, four people were killed and 20 others injured as a bus plunged into a ditch in Osmaninagar upazila on Thursday.According to Officer-in-charge of Osmaninagar Police Station Morsalin Ahmed, the Sylhet-bound bus skidded off the road and fell into the ditch at Brahmansashon around 12:15pm after its driver lost control over the steering, leaving three passengers dead on the spot and 20 others injured.The injured people were taken to different hospitals.In Brahmanbaria, two persons were killed and three others injured in a collision between a bus and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Islamabad area of Sarail upazila on Thursday morning.Police said the accident took place when the Dhaka-bound bus from Sylhet hit the auto-rickshaw on the highway around 9:45am, leaving the duo dead on the spot and three others injured. The injured were admitted to Sarail upazila health complex. Sergeant Jahangir Alam of highway police confirmed the incident.Meanwhile, agitating people ransacked at least ten passenger buses of Ilish Paribahan in Chaltipara area on Dhaka-Mawa Highway on Thursday afternoon.Earlier on Wednesday at least seven people were killed and many other injured at Chaltipara at Sirajdikhan of Munshiganj district. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Thursday went to spot for inspecting the road accident.As soon as he (Quader) left the spot, local people took to the highway and went rampage. As a result movement of all transport came to a halt there causing immense sufferings to the Dhaka bound people.According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) sources, almost all drivers responsible for road accidents across the country escape punishment through legal loopholes and continue to commit such offences, resulting in heavy casualties. The most vulnerable place where many deadly accidents take place is 80km stretch between Tangail and Bangabandhu Bridge.Besides, deadly road crash takes place in Daudkandi, Shahidnagar, Hasanpur, Papiarmore, Iliasganj, Gumta, Raipur, Mathail, Chandina, Soagati, Amangandha, Peuri, Lemua Bridge, Fagirpur, Mithachar, Sonapahar and Kumira on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, in Muljan, Golora Nayadingi, Uthuly, Baniajuri, Pakuria and Joka on Dhaka-Aricha Highway, and in Charpara, Kodin Dhalla, Shavulla, Pakulla, Karatipara, Baiyakhola and Ghaninda Bypass from Mirzapur to Bangabandhu Bridge.A BRTA official said the drivers in general hardly follow traffic rules, especially speed limit, on highways causing fatal accidents.”Most of the times the culprit drivers go unpunished thanks to lack of law enforcement,” the official said.He said in most cases vehicle owners or drivers strike a deal with the victims’ families, while families of the poor victims don’t opt to file a case as it ultimately becomes a burden on them. According to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983, maximum speed for light vehicles like cars and motorcycles is 113 kilometres per hour (kmph), for buses and minibuses 56 kmph, for heavy vehicles like trucks 40 kmph, and for fire brigade vehicles 48 kmph. But almost all drivers disobey this speed limit and even don’t reduce speed near bridges or curves, according to police official.
