Politicisation, irregularities plague transport sector

Politicisation, poor monitoring, and improper action plans are the major challenges in bringing order in the transport sector, which is fraught with irregularities and extortion, speakers told a seminar yesterday.

Road safety initiatives of the government fail due to political hindrance, negligence in enforcement of laws, and a lack of awareness, they viewed.

Officials of the government and NGOs, experts and transport operators spoke at the function titled "Road Safety in Bangladesh: Progress and Challenges", organised by the Road Safety and Advocacy for Social Change Programme of Brac at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.

Extortion, movement of unfit or unlicensed vehicles, fake licences and reckless driving have chronically plagued the country's road transport sector.

On road safety, the country is heading backward day by day, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).

He said indiscipline and chaos could not be prevented due to political reasons.

Political influence is used in introducing buses or giving route permits, according to sources.

Zillur, also a former caretaker government adviser, emphasised formulation of time-bound and specific action plans for ensuring road safety and bringing discipline in the sector.    

The government often takes impromptu decisions for road safely but cannot implement those for different reasons including lack of coordination among government bodies, he said.

Eminent urban transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque thinks engineering faults in roads and negligence in the inspection of vehicles' fitness are two major causes behind road accidents.

Proper road engineering, public awareness, and strict enforcement of laws are very important, he viewed.

Nirapad Sarak Chai Chairman Ilias Kanchan called for creating a separate government body comprising secretaries of different ministries for implementing policy decisions to reduce road crashes.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Director Bijoy Bhushan Paul recognised that road safety laws were not enforced adequately due to a shortage of staff.

He claimed that BRTA was not solely responsible for use of fake licences.

Licences are issued on recommendations of a committee, headed by an additional district magistrate (ADM) in each district and comprised of officials of other departments, he said, stressing the point that the duty to check use of fake licences did not fall soley on BRTA.

Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners' Association President Faruk Talukder Sohel proposed that the government introduce a new system in collaboration with the private sector to accelerate the licence issuance process and to check fake licences.

About extortion, he claimed that local workers and owners' associations had political affiliations, and they often extorted people using these unions and associations.

Bangladesh Passengers' Welfare Association Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury criticised the government, saying most of its decisions went against the interest of passengers.

Presenting a paper, Brac official Priscilla Raj said a total of 1,034 people were killed and 2,060 were injured in road accidents from January to June this year.

Brac Senior Director Asif Saleh moderated the programme, while Honorary Executive Director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) Sara Hossain spoke among others.