Footpaths cleared to curb road fatalities
The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has launched a drive to clear encroached footpaths across the capital to improve pedestrian safety amid a rise in road fatalities.
DNCC Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan said more than half of those died in road accidents in Dhaka are pedestrians.
“We have started clearing footpaths to ensure their safety,” he said at a report launch event in Gulshan on Tuesday.
The findings were revealed in a report titled Road Safety Situation in Dhaka, prepared under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) with technical support from Vital Strategies.
According to the report, 540 people died in road crashes in Dhaka over the past two years. Pedestrians accounted for 56 percent (303 deaths), followed by motorcyclists at 24 percent and rickshaw passengers at 8 percent.
Men aged between 20 and 49 made up 80 percent of the fatalities, indicating that most victims were of working age. Night-time accidents involving reckless buses and trucks were identified as the main cause of deaths.
The report also identified high-risk zones, with Jatrabari and Airport intersections recording the highest number of fatalities at 12 each.
An 8km stretch of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway-from Army Golf Club to Abdullahpur-recorded 67 deaths, averaging more than eight fatalities per kilometre.
DNCC Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Asaduzzaman said coordinated efforts by all relevant agencies are needed, while Chief Engineer Syed Rakibul Hasan stressed the importance of data-driven planning.
He said high-risk roads and intersections under DNCC would be redesigned with safer crossing points, wider pavements, and clearly marked zebra crossings.
Officials said a joint drive by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and DNCC is already underway to remove illegal footpath encroachments.
Experts at the event, including representatives from the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, emphasised that infrastructure improvements must be accompanied by strict enforcement of traffic laws to reduce road deaths and protect vulnerable road users.
