7,221 people killed in road accidents in 2018: Report

Hossen Sohel of DOT
More than 7,000 people were killed in road accidents throughout the country last year, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS) said in a report yesterday, reports The Daily Star.
The BJKS Secretary General Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury revealed the report at a press conference in the capital’s Jatiya Press Club around 11:00am.
According to the report, a total of 7,221 people were killed and 15,466 others injured in total 5,514 road crashes across the country in 2018.
Apart from this, a total of 394 people died and 248 were injured in 370 train accidents the same year, the report said.
At least 126 people were killed, 234 others injured and 387 went missing in the accidents on waterways while reports of 55 people’s death came from crashes of planes which left Bangladesh last year.
While addressing the press conference, BJKS Secretary General Mozammel said, “Accidents are taking place despite the various measures taken by the government and non-government institutions and these are happening due to lack of coordination among the institutions”.
Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, a former caretaker government adviser, said there is no lack of initiatives, but these are mostly formalities which do not ensure accountability.
“It is more important to analyse whether an initiative has been getting a success than just introducing new programmes one after another,” Zillur Rahman, also convener of the Safe Road and Transport Alliance, added.