The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has been unable to bring back order to the roads despite people being killed in road accidents, the High Court has observed.
The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader made the observation on Tuesday (Jun 25) while hearing the matter on the compensation of Md Rasel, who lost a leg after being run over by a bus operated by ‘Green Line Paribahan’.
BRTA counsel Rafiul Islam told the court that a committee had been formed since November 2003 to ensure road safety and it’s still continuing its work.
In response to his argument, the court said, “We don’t want to see committees, we want to see actions.”
“There is still disorder on the streets. As many as 47 people were killed and 700 were injured in road accidents during the Eid holidays. What kind of safety are you providing?”
The BRTA counsel responded: “We formed a committee”, to which the court said, “Forming a committee is routine. People are dying and BRTA is unable to do anything about it.”
The court also rapped Green Line for their delay in paying Rasel the compensation of Tk 5 million.
The transport company had moved the HC to reduce the compensation amount and to pay it in instalments.
The court asked the defendants how much they have paid till now, to which they replied Tk 350,000 for treatment.
“You could’ve done something for him and helped him out. You moved the Appellate Division but your plea was denied,” the court said.
It added that the transport company could’ve paid Rasel Tk 2.5 million for treatment and Tk 2.5 million to make a living. “But you didn’t even do anything on humanitarian ground.”
The court then scrapped their plea of reducing the fine and ordered that the rest of the compensation amount has to be paid in Tk 500,000 instalments within the 7th of each month.
It then gave the company strict warning that steps will be taken if they violate the court order.
On Apr 28, 2019, a luxury Green Line coach rear-ended the car Rasel was driving. The accident occurred on the slope of Mayor Md Hanif Flyover and caused Rasel to step outside of his car to assess the damage.
Although he signalled the bus not to drive away, bus driver Kabir Hossain, in his attempt to flee the scene, ran Rasel over, severing his left leg from the thigh down in the process.
Road safety has been an ongoing issue for years as accidents have become similar to an epidemic.
A survey by road safety campaign Nirapad Sarak Chai (NiSCha - We Demand Safe Roads) says, the number of road accidents in 2016 was 2,316, which grew to 3,349 in 2017 and, until September 2018 stood at 2,672.
In July last year, students across the country waged the road safety movement after two schoolgoers were killed and 12 others were injured by a speeding bus racing with another in Dhaka.
The movement brought the capital to a stand still for nine days, with students regulating traffic and checking transports for licenses and legit papers which most of them failed to produce.