438 killed across road, rail and waterways during Eid journeys: Report

A total of 438 people lost their lives and 1,340 were injured in 442 accidents across Bangladesh's roads, railways, and waterways during the Eid-ul-Azha travel period from May 21 to June 4. The Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger welfare organization, released these figures in a report presented at a press conference.

The report indicates a rise in accidents compared to the previous Eid, with road crashes increasing by 3.95%, deaths by 3.07%, and injuries by 9.47%. During this period, 31 railway accidents resulted in 23 deaths and 30 injuries, while 17 waterway accidents claimed 13 lives and injured 16 people.

Motorcycles were identified as a major cause of road fatalities, being involved in 153 accidents, which constituted 38.83% of all road crashes. These incidents led to at least 159 deaths and 180 injuries. The victims included a diverse group of individuals, such as drivers, transport workers, pedestrians, women, children, students, law enforcers, teachers, a doctor, journalists, an engineer, and political activists.

Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of Jatri Kalyan Samity, stated that the government's 10-12 days of Eid-focused monitoring are insufficient to ensure safety during large-scale public movement. He urged for comprehensive short, medium, and long-term plans, along with a significant overhaul of the public transport system. The organization attributed the accidents to factors including the movement of motorcycles and battery-run vehicles on highways, inadequate road signs and lighting, road defects, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, speeding, overloading, wrong-side driving, and driver fatigue.

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The government’s 10-12 days of Eid-focused monitoring would not be sufficient to save lives or reduce suffering during such a large-scale movement of people.