Traffic mismanagement
It seems that the government could not settle down even after 100 days in office. Government ministers are still not in grip of their ministries. One example is the chaos that is prevailing in traffic management. Is it such a difficult job to create a smooth traffic system? What has to be done is known to all. A huge number of seminars, symposiums conducted at Sonargaon and Sheraton hotels (consuming delicious food at peoples expense !) cannot produce the desired results. Enough has been said. Now it is time to act. Anyone who has lived in a western country will understand what has to be done.
I have summarised some of them for the benefit of our honourable ministers, state ministers, director generals, or what have you: 1. Traffic has to be segregated, for example; in a three lane road heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks are allotted the leftmost lane, fast moving vehicles in the centre lane and overtaking in the rightmost lane. Is it so difficult to implement? 2. There is a huge competition by the buses in the morning to take passengers. This may be checked by fixing their engines so that they cannot attain speed in excess of 40 km/hour and evolving a system of staggered timings agreed upon by all bus operators. 3. It may be made mandatory for the private bus operators to run only double deckers. This will reduce the number of buses plying the roads 4. School timings may be fixed after 9:00am, so that this traffic does not clash with office /business traffic. 5. Use of horns may be banned except in emergency cases. 6. Rickshaws may be confined to operating inside residential areas only. 7. Separate lanes may be constructed beside the pavement for the rickshaws. 8. The number of rickshaws may be reduced to an optimum level. 9. More flyovers, underpasses and foot overbridges may be constructed gradually. 10. People may be encouraged to use public transport (for that purpose public transport has to be improved). 11. Tax on cars may be increased. 12. The traffic police needs to be trained up if possible by traffic police instructors from the UK. At present they don't know their duties, that's for sure.13. Similarly, the drivers of vehicles need to be trained about driving rules, manners and etiquette through public awareness programmes on TV and spot checks by traffic police. At present it seems everyone in the road is participating in a dodge race where anything goes, the only aim is to go in front of the vehicle ahead! People must be made to learn that driving is a pleasure. I don't find anyone in Bangladesh waving hands to the other fellow driver as I observed abroad.
I wish somebody made me responsible for this and I would implement most of the above within a week!
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