ROAD accidents took heavy tolls on early Friday morning amidst thick winter fog killing nine people on both approach roads of Bangabandhu Bridge while the day’s total casualties all over the country stood at 21. The terrible point is that last year alone over 8,642 people were killed in the country’s roads and highways and nobody appears to care about it. The Friday’s fatalities included the son of a Minister along with many others unfortunate people raising question about Highway Police Patrol particularly at night and early morning when heavy fog left the visibility in the area almost at zero level. We know two police outposts are also located on both ends of the Bangabandhu Bridge and people raise the question what those police men were doing when accidents on both ends of the Bridge took so many lives instantly.
It appears quite pathetic to see that when the first passenger bus hit a truck in dense fog at Western end of Bangabandhu Bridge, almost two dozens more vehicles slammed on one another as there was none to alert them. Police and Fire Brigade reached the spots at least one hour later and their vehicles only added to the mess leaving at least seven dead on the spot at the end. Two others were killed on the East end of the Bridge, which is also notorious for accidents, and was left unprotected in dense fog. Many believe that had there been Highway Police and others at work and cautionary signals were on display, such accidents could have been avoided.
Everyone knows that the Western approach road to Bangabandhu Bridge is quite narrow and accident prone with only two-lane drive. Many more fatal accidents happened at the spot in recent past and people were demanding four-lane expansion of it. Even they held demonstrations and human chains to that end. But it passed so far unheeded.
As it appears the peak winter time is hitting the country at the moment with dense fog making night-time journey quite risky and the need for mobilization of Highway Police is a high priority to save passengers’ life. Risky spots and critical turning points need to be earmarked by high light posts and police must guide movements of vehicles at all those places to help them avert accidents.
It is fortunate that public officials are seen as lacking in sense of duty to the people. It is suspected that the special police for the Bangabandhu Bridge were protecting themselves from cold when vehicular accidents on the bridge were bound to take place because of heavy fog.
Road accidents in the country, which is growing now every year, have been taken as a part of systemic neglect to duty by the law enforcers where the government appears not bothered at all. They are busy telling us the glory of the liberation war.
