Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday termed World Health Organization's (WHO) latest figure of road traffic deaths in Bangladesh "imaginary".

The Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 released by WHO on Monday says it is 21,316 persons every year.

In that case, 59 persons have to die every day, Quader told journalists after a meeting with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in the capital's Elenbari, adding that even if 10 deaths occur every day, the figure does not exceed 3,650.

Quader asked BRTA officials to intensify the ongoing drive against unfit vehicles, fake driving licenses and realisation of extra fare from passengers and to check the malpractice of modifying bodies of minibuses to increase the number of seats.

The minister informed that 1.5 lakh motorcycles were registered in the last three months while 6.5 lakh vehicles got new number plates with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

Meanwhile, Nirapad Sharak Chai (We Demand Safe Road) Chairman Ilias Kanchan at a press conference in Dhaka Reporters Unity said the number of road accidents was decreasing as public consciousness rose.

According to a report of the organisation, 4,536 people were killed while 10,770 others injured in 2,713 road crashes in 2014. Ilias hoped the death toll would be fewer this year.

The report was prepared based on six national dailies, he said, mentioning that many road accidents in rural areas often remain unpublished. He urged leaders to include road accident prevention strategies in their political agendas.

A rally and a milad mahfil will be held tomorrow marking "Safe Road Day", observed by the organisation on the day Ilias's wife died in a road accident in 2013. A magazine named "Nirapad" was unveiled.