Even 13 years after its formation, the highway police have failed to be an effective force to restore discipline and reduce road fatalities on national highways for lack of sufficient manpower and logistics, said transport experts.

They said the government is now using 2,863 members of the highway police mainly for security reasons as they mostly check vehicles for recovering drugs or maintaining law and order since they are not properly equipped to enforce traffic rules, reports UNB.

Talking to the news agency, director of Buet's Accident Research Institute (ARI) Prof Moazzem Hossain, Prof Shamsul Hoque of its Civil Engineering department and general secretary of the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) Ashis Kumar Dey advised the government to take steps for the modernisation of the highway police and increasing its manpower so that it can help reduce road accidents, violation of traffic rules and tailbacks.

The highway police started its journey in June 2005 as a separate unit of Bangladesh Police to enforce law and combat crimes and accidents on highways and keep those safe for passengers.

Contacted, Prof Moazzem said the highway police now cannot play any important role in enforcing law and checking road accidents for lack of manpower, proper logistics and technological support.

Mentioning that at least 40,000 people have been killed and 60,0000 others got crippled in road accidents across the country over the last five years, he said the government should strengthen the capacity of the highway police to reduce the road accidents.

Moazzem said the government can install Radar Speed-enforcement Camera in every one/two kms of the national highways so that the highway police can keep the entire highways and all vehicles under their constant surveillance and take quick action.

"These cameras will be able to sensor the speed and number plates of vehicles even during dense fog. Highway police will be able to detect those who violate the speed limit and traffic rules and punish them automatically by sending tickets through SMS or by any other digital means," he added.

Shamsul Hoque said, "The highway police should be given necessary authority and support so that they can strongly check the violation of traffic rules, chaos and crimes on the highway and punish the errant drivers."

He said the highway police now cannot effectively prevent the movement of non-motorised vehicles, violation of traffic rules, overtaking, traffic disorder and plying of unfit vehicles for lack of manpower.

Besides, the transport expert said, the highway police lack sufficient vehicles, wreckers, stations and outpost, speed detectors and other modern equipment to strictly enforce law and punish the offenders.

Ashis Kumar said the government must increase the manpower and give magistracy power to conduct mobile court alongside setting up adequate number of police stations and rest houses for them.

Contacted, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the highway police Md Atiqul Islam said they have been performing their duties, including controlling traffic jams as well as investigating road accidents and enforcing laws against traffic rules violators, on the highways with only 2863 manpower.

Besides, he said, they also work for checking smuggling, especially illegal drugs by searching vehicles. "Despite various limitation and inadequate manpower and technical support, we're sincerely working to keep the highway safe and enforce law."

Replying to a question, Atiqul said the government has started installing CCTV cameras at important points of the highways as part of its move to modernise the highway police.

He also said Police Headquarters worked out a Tk 130 crore project proposal named 'Strengthening Highway Police' to modernise the force and increase its capacity, and sent it to the Planning Ministry.

The ministry, however, sent back the project proposal to the Police Headquarters recently with some observations, Atiqul added.