UNB: Transparency Inter-national Bangladesh (TIB) demanded for strict enforcement of law to prevent road accidents. In a press statement, the organization also urged to end the ongoing long-term conflict of interest of the stakeholders of this sector as well as ensuring transparency and accountability.
of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, owners and workers association of transport sector.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said in the statement that, road transport sector is being affected by negligence of the concerned authorities, lack of strict enforcement of law, lack of good governance of the concerned organizations, different complexities and irregularities including syndicates in higher level and so on.
The number of deaths in road accidents is increasing day by day as a group of profit-seeking owners is managing the sector with unskilled drivers without licenses as well as unfit vehicles, he noted adding that concerned authorities including concerned ministry and BRTA cannot avoid the responsibility of such disorder at all.
“The first and the foremost step to end this situation is to free the sector from conflict of interest”, added the executive director.
Referring to a TIB’s research of 2009 over the road transport system, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, although BRTA talked about various initiatives to control public transports, the organization has not played any effective role in the last 10 years to control motor vehicles.
Although BRTA has talked about various initiatives in public transport, in the last 10 years, BRTA has not played a role in the motor vehicle control programme, he said.
He also said the situation becomes more complex when high ranked personalities at the state level become active to cover the crimes of different organizations and its members of the sector.
Mentioning about the plan to bring down the number of road accidents in half by 2020 as stated in the National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan, Dr Iftekharuzzaman urged on ensuring transparency, accountability and good governance of the concerned authorities immediately to prevent road accidents.
He also said, government’s strict surveillance and continuous awareness programmes should be undertaken as well as proper training needed to be provided to the stakeholders to obstruct illegal competition of vehicles in the streets and bring the transport sector into discipline.