THE total casualty in road mishaps in different corners of the country during the home returns on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr is around 50. We express our deep shock for the bereaved families who were deprived of having the company of their dear ones in the celebration of Eid this year. We recall the Communications Minister’s assurance to repair the ramshackle highways and thank him for his belated move, though ultimate success, as the Minister said, will be achieved on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. We have nothing to do but to wait till that festivity for about two and a half months. However, the lives we have lost can never be compensated at any cost.
The media reports have it that at least 28 people were killed in road crashes in Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Tangail, Noakhali, Chittagong and Bhola before the Eid day. Besides, a boat sank near a shoal in the Padma River in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia on Eid day, which took the lives of at least 10 people. Rescuers are yet to locate three people. There are five children among the missing.
Meanwhile, nine people were killed and 53 injured in separate road accidents in three districts across the country day after Eid on Wednesday. Of the deceased, four were killed in Sylhet, three killed in Sirajganj and two in Thakurgaon. A boat capsize in Sirajgonj yesterday had around four people confirmed dead and 10 missing.
However, the Communications Minister on last Saturday before Eid assured this year’s Eid journey would be more comfortable for the home-bound people than the previous years. How comfortable it could be when the death figure was higher than that of the last year! Earlier in January while taking charge for the second consecutive term, the Minister announced that his Ministry would concentrate only on maintenance, as required in the roads and highways for the first 100 days. Regrettably, more than 180 days have already been passed since his announcement; we are persistently getting more deadlines from the Minister. The deadline for completion of the four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway, regarded as the lifeline of the national economy, has already been extended four times. The other Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane project, which was scheduled to have been completed by last June, has had another deadline extended till March next year.
Let the incumbent Communication Minister remember that he was appointed in place of Syed Abul Hossain, who had to quit for not only his alleged involvement in Padma Bridge scam but also for the failure of ensuring safe journey for commuters. Only the Minister’s tall talks in the media will not ease the agonies of the people. Rather, the Communication Minister should do something concrete to reduce accidental deaths in highways.
