Editorial Desk :
Highways witness huge traffic jams along with fatal accidents just a few days before and after Eid celebrations. Each year, scores of lives perish on the highways, or rivers, during this time. Compared to the road and waterway journeys, trains are rather safe and that is why demand for a train ticket is far greater than the bus or a launch ticket. The long queues of people every day for advance tickets on the stations are proof to this.
People go to the station in the evening and stand in the queue to get a ticket that is issued the following morning. The fleet of a small number of trains that Bangladesh Railways has fails to meet the demand of passengers even during the normal time. During Eid this demand becomes huge and thousands are forced to celebrate their Eid in the capital as Railways cannot cope with it. The demand of passengers speaks that Bangladesh Railways should have been a profitable entity, but unfortunately it could not become so due to gross mismanagement and ubiquitous corruption in Railways projects.
However, this year, as Padma Bridge has opened to traffic, pressure on launches has greatly reduced. In fact, launches are remaining idle on ghats as Eid travelers have turned to buses to go home. Therefore, we can be a bit assured that during this Eid, hopefully, we will not have to hear news of a launch tragedy.
But highways must be safe and hassle-free. Every year during Eid, long tailbacks on highways–they could be as long as 30 kilometres in length–spoils the joy of Eid travelers, not to mention the tragic road accidents that take away hundreds of lives.
The relevant authorities gave an unusual response to the fatal accidents on highways during Eid and employed experts to know the causes of accidents recently as Eid-ul Azha was approaching. The experts came out with their findings that said more than 50 per cent fatal accidents that take place on highways are due to two-wheeler motorcycles. Following their recommendations, authorities have banned plying of motorcycles during one week before and after Eid.
Apparently, it seems that authorities are very careful about the safety of Eid travelers, but this will not appear so once you take into consideration the allegation of motorcyclists that this is how the syndicate of bus owners wanted to deprive them of the money they earn through ride sharing during Eid. Train service of Bangladesh Railways has also become unpopular because of the pressure of this syndicate.
However, during Eid, the highway police must manage the traffic efficiently so that travelers find their journey safe and comfortable. For enforcing traffic rules, we have always suggested that the government can very positively install Radar Speed-enforcement Camera in every one/two kms of the national highways so that the highway police can keep the entire highways and all vehicles under their constant surveillance and take quick action. But this suggestion has been ignored.
