Why can’t we ensure safe Eid trips?

Every Eid holiday, home-bound people risk their lives while travelling long distances, and this time has been no exception. Between June 5 and 10, according to a report, at least 29 people died and 153 were injured in road crashes across 16 districts. Casualties continued on June 11 when at least four people were killed and 20 others injured in Pabna and Mymensingh. These figures will rise in all likelihood as people start to return to their places of residence after the end of the extended 10-day holiday. A similarly disturbing trend was observed during Eid-ul-Fitr, too, when 132 people lost their lives in just eight days.

Unfortunately, despite such high numbers of casualties and crashes during Eid holidays, the authorities seem largely indifferent to road safety.

This partly reflects the anarchy in the transport sector that persists even after the fall of the Awami League regime. Unfit vehicles and unlicensed drivers still dominate our roads, while the Road Transport Act 2018 remains largely unenforced. According to BRTA, over 75,000 vehicles, including buses, minibuses, trucks, covered vans, and tankers, have surpassed their operational lifespan. In Dhaka, for instance, one in five privately operated buses lacks a valid fitness certificate. These outdated and unfit vehicles contribute significantly to accidents, yet there has been little effort to remove them.

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Why must Eid festivities always turn tragic?

The interim government's decision to eliminate expired vehicles from roads from May onwards has yet to been implemented. Moreover, extortion and disorder continue to plague the transport sector, with transport associations now predominantly run by BNP leaders instead of their Awami League predecessors.

Motorcycles account for a significant number of road crashes in the country, causing nearly 38 percent of all accident-related deaths. Reportedly, many of the crashes during this Eid holiday also involved motorcycles. We wonder whether the government has at all taken any measure to regulate the operation of such risky vehicles. Furthermore, the accident-prone zones on highways are quite well-known by now, but has the government taken any steps to reduce accident risks in those areas?

Unless all these issues are addressed, road crashes will continue to claim lives. The need for meaningful reforms in the transport sector, therefore, cannot be stressed enough. With the Eid holiday still ongoing, the authorities must take proactive measures to prevent further casualties during people's return journeys. The tragic loss of lives must not continue unchecked.