Death toll from Eid-time road accidents hits 7-year high: Report


FE ONLINE DESK | Published: July 19, 2022 13:51:36 | Updated: July 19, 2022 19:54:10


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Road accidents have killed 398 people over two weeks of Eid travels, the highest toll in seven years.

The road accidents also left 774 people injured in the same period, according to data compiled by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, bdnews24.com reports.

A total of 440 people died and 791 were injured in road, rail and river accidents from Jul 3-17.

Road accidents, totalling 319, accounted for the vast majority of casualties. Twenty-five people died and two were injured in rail accidents during the period, while 17 died, 15 were injured and three are missing in river accidents.

The association releases a report from its road accident monitoring cell every year. It compiles the report by monitoring the news published by popular and credible national, regional and online news organisations.

More people travelled during Eid-ul-Azha this year compared to 2021 because there was a lockdown in effect last year, said Md Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the organisation.

In 2021, 273 people died and 447 were injured during the Eid-ul-Azha trips. In 2020, the death toll was 242 and the number of injuries was 331. In 2019, 224 died and 866 were injured.

The PWAB estimates some 12 million people left Dhaka during Eid-ul-Azha this year, while nearly 40 million travelled between districts.

The public transport sector took advantage of the high demand and the restrictions on motorcycle travel to overcharge customers more than ever before, Mozammel said.

Mismanagement also caused problems for travellers, with some journeys on routes that should have taken only four hours taking as long as 15-20, he added.

Passengers were harassed, overcharged and had to take unfit vehicles or resort to travelling by truck, vans, pickup trucks, or even poultry vans, the passenger welfare advocate said.

Mozammel said that train travellers had to face delays, black market ticket sales, and difficulties getting tickets.

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