At least 112 persons were killed and a few hundred injured in 63 road accidents in Tangail in 2019.

The figures in 2018 were 44 deaths and 127 injured people. All these accidents took place on the Dhaka-Bangabandhu Bridge highway, Tangail-Jamalpur and Tangail-Mymensingh highways and other zonal highways under Tangail district.

Vehicles leaving Dhaka and moving towards the 24 North Bengal districts take these highways. Routes like Dhaka-Jamalpur via Tangail, Dhaka-Sherpur via Tangail, Dhaka-Dhanbari-Kendua, Dhaka-Gopalpur, Dhaka-Madhupur, Dhaka-Sarisabari, Tarakanda, North and South Bengal districts to greater Mymensingh districts and Sylhet, Chittagong-Jamalpur, Sherpur and many other routes ply on these important highways.  

Sources said as many as 20,000 vehicles plied on the Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (BJMB) alone on the eve of Eid. Sources in the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) said 63 accidents occurred from January to December in 2019 and 112 people died and a few hundred were injured. The BRTA cited indiscriminate parking of buses and trucks, loading and unloading passengers, plying of modes of transport in opposite directions, plying of unfit vehicles, free movement of illegal battery-driven and CNG autos on highways and reckless driving, especially by motorcyclists, as the major causes of road accidents.

Allegations have been levelled that the BRTA and police administration have failed to deal with errant drivers.  Meanwhile, commuters blamed the administration for being lax and indifferent to the rising number of road accidents.

Tapon Goon, who works for an NGO, said: “Rash driving and flouting of traffic rules are the major causes of accidents.” Deluwar Hossain, a driver associated with Binimoya Paribahan, said: “I wonder how banned three-wheelers are being allowed on highways. They are solely responsible for the road accidents.”

Explaining the causes of road crashes, Md. Safiqul Islam, the additional superintendent of police (SP) of Tangail, said: “The number of vehicles has gone up phenomenally. Commuters’ count has also increased. Moreover, people don’t bother about traffic rules. Transports ply without fitness certificates and there has been no proper training for drivers.”

Islam added: “Proper training of drivers and awareness of pedestrians can reduce the number of accidents.” He, however, said the traffic police were doing their job.  

The president of the Tangail district unit of Nirapod Sarak Chai, an NGO, Md. Golam Kibria Boromoni, said: “We’ve spoken to the authorities and are working out to raise awareness among commuters and drivers. The current government has passed the Road Safety Act, 2019. The number of accidents will come down if the law is enforced.”

Md. Abu Nayeem, AD of BRTA in Tangail, said: “Mobile courts have been set up and violators have been fined. We’re taking strong action and won’t spare anyone infringing the rules of the road.”