Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– A total of 8,642 people were killed and 21,855 injured in 6,581 road accidents across the country in 2015, causing financial losses to the tune of BDT 75 billion, a report said.
According to the report, prepared by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS) (Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh), 0.3 million vehicles sans fitness along with 1.0 million ‘nasiman’, ‘kariman’, ‘bhotboti’ and easy-bikes, all locally-made motorised vehicles, were involved in the large number of accidents.
BJKS annual report-2015 on road accidents also said the victims of road accidents did not get necessary legal assistance from the police while the affluent people also did not stand by the victims.
Apart from those accidents, 221 drivers, helpers and passengers were killed and 486 others injured in political violence in 2015. During the same year, a passenger was killed in Gazipur while another at Banskhali in Chittagong and two were lynched in Rangpur.
Of the dead, 1,080 were students while 305 teachers, 133 journalists, 109 doctors, 124 lawyers, 106 engineers, 535 transport workers, 419 drivers, 280 members of law enforcement agencies, 801 political activists of different parties, 2,241 pedestrians, 261 government officials, 1,677 women and 1,122 were children, according to the report, released on Saturday.
BJKS recommended the authorities concerned for reducing the number of road accidents that include raising awareness the students and other people about traffic laws, massive media campaign about the adverse impact of road accidents, removal of illegal makeshift shops and kitchen markets from roadsides, ensuring separate lanes for high, medium and low-speed vehicles, opening trauma centres immediately, digitisation of fitness certificates of vehicles and imparting training to drivers.
BBN/SSR/AD
