I do not know about the rest of the country, but in Dhaka city alone, most of the foot over-bridges are avoided by pedestrians and they are found risking their lives by crossing the roads indiscriminately. These foot over-bridges were installed by the authorities with a view to ensuring safe road crossing for pedestrians and eliminate chances of accidents. There are specific laws in the country to prevent people from crossing roads without negotiating the foot over-bridges, but very seldom the law enforcers are found to enforce it. We should simply realize that if we use foot over-bridges we can avoid accidents.
In developed countries, however, we see there are traffic signals when the pedestrians are given priority over others to cross the roads. We should make our city a pedestrian-friendly one where pedestrians should be allowed to move with safety and security. At the same time, it must be ensured from the authorities' side that these foot over-bridges are kept free of hawkers and beggars. Many citizens complain that most of the foot over-bridges are occupied by street beggars and vendors selling variety of items. This must be stopped to facilitate use of foot over-bridges by pedestrians.
Moinuddin
Mirpur, Dhaka
