300-death report ‘false’; Eid travel was smooth

Although there were incidents of deaths on the road, fare hikes, and traffic jams, this year’s Eid travel has been described as “smooth” by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam.

According to him, a couple of “unfortunate accidents” occurred during Eid travel.

The Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation reported that from 17 March to 27 March, there were 373 road accidents resulting in 298 deaths across the country. However, the Road Minister stated that this figure is “not accurate” and claimed that deaths during this Eid travel were “lower than in the past.”

On Sunday, at a meeting of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, Sheikh Robiul Alam held discussions with relevant officials on seven agenda points, including preventing road accidents and strengthening road safety.

After the meeting, when asked about how the 10-day Eid travel went, the minister said, “I think the Eid journey was smooth because 15 million people wanted to leave Dhaka within three days. There were one or two major unfortunate accidents, for which we are sorry and distressed.

“Then there were traffic jams… people were unable to get home for hours due to lack of vehicles, even on Eid day. But still, compared to any previous period, 15 million people were able to return home safely and comfortably.”

Regarding the report of 300 deaths during Eid travel, the minister said, “The number you mentioned, I think I would disagree with your statistics. Together with BRTA [Bangladesh Road Transport Authority] and the Roads and Highways Authority, we collect data immediately whenever an accident occurs.”

Presenting the data he had, Robiul Alam said, “This year, the number of deaths from road and river accidents is 170—47 on highways, 28 on waterways, and approximately 17 on railways. The rest were killed on LGED roads or other accidents.”