The Jatri Kalyan Samity (JSK) has said 339 people died in 277 road accidents during Eid journeys of this year throughout Bangladesh.
The total death toll from roads, railways and waterways was 405 in 335 accidents, according to a new study of the organisation.
The study was disseminated at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
JSK said 1,274 suffered injuries in road accidents during the Eid holidays.
Holidaymakers started going to town and village homes from June 15 before the Eid-ul-Fitr held on June 16.
The return journeys started a day after the Eid, while most people got back to work by June 17.
A road monitoring cell has prepared the statistics using reports from news outlets, JSK Secretary General Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury said.
The pre-Eid journey was a bit comfortable due to strong monitoring by the different public agencies, but the number of road accidents increased in the post-festival in absence lax monitoring, according to the report.
JSK has come up with the data at a time when Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader claimed that "this year’s Eid journeys had been the most comfortable so far".
Chowdhury said: “We have been monitoring the situation over the last several years. The number of road accidents during Eid journeys has increased at an alarming rate.”
The JSK report blamed the accidents on reckless driving, unfit vehicles and unskilled drivers.