The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways has urged the authorities concerned to take advance precautionary measures for transport management during Eid to avoid possible accidents and public sufferings.
The civic organization has demanded that the authorities to repair dilapidated roads and run essential number of BRTC buses to solve the public transport crisis.
Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, president of the organisation Mohammad Shahid Mia and its general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey made the demands in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement also sought steps to stop plying of all types of small vehicles, including motorcycle and three wheelers with locally made engines on all national highways for 10 days before and after Eid.
Expressing deep concern over the uphill road crashes and loss of lives, the statement said that if strict action is not be taken in this regard immediately, the number of accidents may reach an unbearable level during Eid travel.
In the statement, the NCPSRR leaders said that many roads in the country are in poor condition. Renovation of these roads usually starts hastily before Eid and so the work is not done properly, it said.
As a result, public money is wasted and risk of accidents remains, it added.
The leaders of the organization alleged that a huge number of home-bound people had to face severe shortage of transports and bus owners increase the fare. .
The bus workers on midway forcefully collect double or triple money more than the fixed fare from those passengers, the statement alleged.
Due to schedule disruptions of most of the bus services in every Eid, many passengers endure extreme suffering, added the statement.
The leaders of the National Committee demanded that BRTC Eid Special Bus Service be launched in special arrangements on all long-distance routes from major cities including Dhaka to alleviate the acute transport crisis and fare anarchy.
Source: United News of Bangladesh