Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh human rights activist Sultana Kamal on Saturday accused the government of resorting to ‘gunfights’ as the only means of solving problems.
“It seems that the government has only one means ‘gunfight’ to solve problems. This type of situation prevails when there is lack of good governance and accountability. This nation is losing mental balance,” Sultana Kamal, vice-president of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), said this at a protest rally at Shahbagh intersection in the capital.
Organised by 24 civil organisations, the rally demanded justice on the death of BAPA official Uttam Kumar Debnath, end to the anarchy on road transports and killing of people.
Sultana Kamal, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, said that 15 to 16 people are dying every day in road accidents in the country.
“People have been desperate to go ahead and such an unhealthy competition has brought us here-we all are paying for this,” she added. On May 21, Uttam Kumar Debnath, 40, a programme coordinator of BAPA, died as a bus hit him while he was crossing Dhaka-Aricha highway at Hemayetpur of Savar.
The accident took place when Uttam was on way to his office in Dhaka.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, another former adviser to the caretaker government, said, “It seemed that the killing of the people in road accidents does not touch the country’s policymakers. It is so pathetic.”
“The people of the country, who are paying taxes, have failed to get guarantee of normal death. They should protest against this,” she said.
The rally was also addressed by Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, General Secretary of BPA Abdul Matin and its Joint Secretary Architect Iqbal Habib.
The speakers asked the government to reduce road accidents by restoring discipline in the transport sector with proper monitoring and actions.
