Looking Back 2019 Steps fail to ensure road safety, better rly service

Safety and discipline on roads and quality railway service was elusive in 2019.

Though the government made huge investments in infrastructural projects communication by road as well as the railway deteriorated in many areas instead of providing the desired improvements, said communication experts.  

The government even backtracked on the full enforcement of the much discussed  Road Transport Act 2018 in the face of protests from transport owners and workers.

‘We failed to restore discipline on the roads,’ admitted road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader.

Replying to New Age, he said, ‘We have to go a long way to restore discipline and the main challenge for me in 2020 would be to restore discipline, my first, second and third goal.’

Similarly, railways minister Nurul Islam Sujan also admitted that he could not improve railway service to the travellers in last one year.

He told New Age that train movement on the schedule was a major indicator of improving the railway communication.

He said that in the northern and the southern districts trains continued to run behind the schedules mostly due to single tracks from Ishwardi to Tongi and each train has to wait on the Bangabandhu Bridge to let other trains pass.

He said that after four new trains were pressed into service in the northern districts the failure to maintain schedules multiplied.

Replying to a question, he said that it would not be possible to improve the schedules before the completion of construction of a dedicated railway bridge on the river Jamuna and transforming single lines to double lines in the northern area by 2024.

The experts, however, blamed the government policy of attaching priority to mega development projects instead of on improving the service to travellers.

They also blamed lack of enforcement of the law, lax monitoring and un-coordinated development activities for the dismal situation.

Ruling Awami League, seems to be oblivious about its 2018 electoral manifesto in which it promised to make all-out efforts to enforce the Road Transport Act to curb  road accidents, to modernize the traffic system and speedily complete the railway’s on-going projects for improving the connectivity between the capital and the rest of the country at cheaper fares.  

Non-enforcement of the road law increased the number of fatal accidents, dilapidated highways, indiscipline in public transports, costly mega projects, overloading, poor traffic management and poor performances of government agencies including the BRTA were the major issues that drew sharp public criticism in road transport sector throughout 2019.

The road law came into effect on November 1, 2019 more than 13 months after its enactment in September 2018.

Finally the government began enforcing the law on November 17 amidst countrywide protests by transport workers only to backtrack as transport workers demanded making cases to be filed against drivers bailable and incorporation of the provision of not arresting or harassing owners in road accidents cases, issuing driving licence in a short time with easy conditions and allowing all modified goods-carrying vehicles to operate.

Currently the law enforcers are enforcing the law partially after the government gave time to the transport workers and owners until June 30, 2020 to update driving licences and vehicles’ fitness certificates.

According to the Accident Research Institute of BUET, at least 4,230 people were killed and 7,002 others injured in 3,820 accidents in 2019 until December 22, while 4,076 were killed and 8,715 other injured in 3,513 accidents in 2018 and 3,672 were killed and 7,400 others injured in 2,917 accidents in 2017.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on December 19 at a seminar came down heavily on road transport and highways division for not constructing durable highways and the failure to properly maintain them.

Roads and Highways Department officials blamed overloading as a major cause of dilapidating the roads and the bridges.

The goods carriers are currently area transporting heavier cargoes after the government allowed them.

As for railways sector disruption in train schedules was the much discussed issue in 2019 especially on the northern routes even after introduction of new trains and similarly fatal accidents, expensive projects and costly mega projects also were issues of criticism by the public.

In 2019, Bangladesh Railway introduced four new trains, one each in Dhaka-Chapainawabganj, Dhaka-Panchagarh, Dhaka-Benapole and Dhaka-Kurigram routes but the disruption in the schedules increased throughout the year.

On November 12, at least 17 passengers were killed and 70 other injured after the locomotive of Dhaka-bound Turna Express hit Chattogram-bound Udayan Express in the middle at Kasba, Brahmanbaria.

On November 14, at least 20 passengers were injured as fire broke out on the locomotive and two compartments of Rangpur Express following derailment at Ullapara, Sirajganj.

Railway’s move to construct elevated electric railway traction for high speed trains on the Dhaka-Chattogram section drew severe public criticism about the feasibility of the ambitions project at the estimated cost of about Tk 97,000 crore.

Shamsul Hoque, professor of department of civil engineering of BUET praised introduction of service lanes along the highways, construction of mass rapid transit and enforcement of the road law as the government’s achievement in the road sector. 

But he called it unacceptable that the government failed to implement the recommendations made in 2005 in the Strategic Transport Plan including franschising the bus service, installing the traffic signals, improving the quality of public transportation, and restricting rickshaws in major cities and constructing the eastern and western fringe roads around the capital to restore traffic discipline.

Shamsul Hoque also blamed lack of coordination in development projects for the indiscipline  on the roads and as an example he said that the Jhilmil Expressway Project was contradictory to the Bus Rapid Transit Line 3 Project and that the capital’s flyovers would conflict  with the under construction as well as planned Mass Rapid Transit Lines.

In railways sector the focus removed from the services to the development projects, a huge deficiency grew in the chain of commands and faulty recruitment process, he said.

‘There is no shortage of development projects in the railways with no improvement in services,’ he added.

Professor Md Mizanur Rahman, director of Accident Research Institute, said that in 2019 major railway accidents occurred that could be prevented.

These incidents might discourage the passengers to travel by train, he said.

He also said that safety on roads did not improve in 2019.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net