Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has called upon the government to take strict actions against transport operators to end fare anarchy, harassment and extortion on millions of homebound travellers during the upcoming Eid journey.
RSF Chairman Prof AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, Vice Chairman MS Siddiqui, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Abdul Hamid Sharif, Professor Hasina Begum and Executive Director Saidur Rahman in a joint statement also said some 8.0 million to 9.0 million people may travel for home from the capital Dhaka this year's Eid-ul-Fitr celebration which is much higher than the previous years.
“We do not have sufficient vehicles to transport such a large number of passengers in just five days. As a result, there is a risk of increasing vehicle crisis and fare anarchy this time than other times”, they said.
There is also a risk of severe traffic jams due to slow repairs and widening of roads from Dhaka to the northern region of the country, they stated.
Many other roads and highways of the country are in dilapidated condition, so the homebound travellers will have to suffer, they pointed out.
In this precarious situation, extortion on roads and waterways will create tremendous anarchy and passengers’ harassment, which will augment the unbearable sufferings for them during the journey, they continued.
The 'extortion syndicate' has already become active on the road and waterways centred on the Eid journey, they said.
Unfortunately, many police personnel are involved in those extortions. These extortions are the main reason for the disruption of the road and shipping system and terrible traffic jams on roads, they added.
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