Staff Reporter :The week-long drive against jaywalking in the capital city ended on Monday. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) conducted the drive. At least 55 people and owners of 79 unfit vehicles were fined Tk 33,700 at Karwan Barzar and Banglamotor on the last day. The range of the fine for crossing the intersection without using foot over-bridges was between Tk 50 and Tk 100, said Magistrate Sarwar Alam, who led the mobile court of the drive.The court also fined the unfit vehicles from Tk 500 to Tk 2,000 for plying on the road, violating traffic rules on the concluding day of the drive. Amid the poor state of foot over-bridges and footpaths in the city, the DMP started the drive on November 25 after conducting a three-day awareness campaign. The drive was conducted in city’s Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Banglamotor and Ruposhi Bangla Hotel areas. Additional police personnel were deployed from Ruposhi Bangla Hotel to Farmgate to assist the mobile court team of the DMP. In the drive, the mobile court fined several hundred pedestrians from Tk 50 to Tk 200 each for violating rules while crossing roads. According to traffic rules, one can be sentenced to maximum six months’ imprisonment or Tk 200 for not using foot over-bridges or crossing the streets sporadically.Meanwhile, rights activists opposed the drive against the pedestrians, saying that without ensuring the facilities like keeping footpaths free from illegal occupations, the drive is not acceptable. Abu Naser Khan, Chairman of Save the Environment Movement, said that they were appreciating the drive but authorities concerned should also ensure all the facilities first for smooth movement of city dwellers. Otherwise, the drive would not be acceptable, he added.
