As many as 211 people were killed and another 227 were injured in road accidents during the government-imposed nationwide shutdown since March 26 in the country, said a study of a passengers’ rights group.
The lives were lost and damages were made in total 201 road accidents across the country even when the whole transportation system of the country was put in restriction, said the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity).
The passenger rights body in a statement on Sunday said that the road accident monitoring cell of the association prepared the report collecting information from the national newspapers.
The rights body called for proper measures to check the road accidents in the country and expressed concerns citing that the nationwide shutdown could not stop road accidents.
Besides, there were eight water route accidents which killed eight, injured two and two were still missing, it added.
Out of all the victims of the accidents—either injured or killed, newspapers published the identities of 69 pedestrians, 67 vehicle drivers, 32 transport workers, 13 students, three teachers, 46 members of law enforcing agencies, 27 women, 21 children, one newsman and one political party leader.
Among the deceased whose identities were published in the newspapers, 64 were pedestrians, 50 vehicle drivers, 20 transport workers, 12 students, three teachers, two members of law enforcement agencies, 22 women, 18 children, one newsman and one was political party leader , the report said.
Some 97 trucks and covered-vans, 63 motorbikes, 29 battery-run rickshaws and easy-bikes, 28 three wheelers (‘Nasimon’ and ‘Karimon’), 22 CNG-run autorickshaws, 17 private cars and a bus got involved in those 201 road accidents, it added.
On April 23, some 13 road accidents took place that claimed 14 lives and injured five others, which was the highest in a single-day casualties recorded during the period of the study.
