High Court orders ‘master plan’ to curb Dhaka traffic

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 18:21, Jul 21, 2019 | Updated : 18:32, Jul 21, 2019

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The High Court has ordered the formulation of a ‘master plan’ by a panel of experts to find effective ways to curb traffic congestion in Dhaka city.
After the initial hearing of public interest litigation on Sunday (Jul 21), the bench of justices Tariq ul Hakim and Md Shohrowardi also ordered the concerned authorities to file the report within three months.
On May 16, Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan filed the petition seeking the court’s order to form a special task-force to ease traffic jam in the city.
The petitioner pleaded to the court to issue a rule asking the authorities to explain why their failure to address the Dhaka traffic issued should not be declared illegal.
Secretaries of home, road transport, planning, finance, and environment ministries, chairman of RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha), mayors of Dhaka South and North city corporations and inspector of police were made respondent in the petition.
The petition cited a recent study, which said Bangladesh loses Tk 370 billion a year, which is equal to 11 percent of the national budget, to traffic congestion in Dhaka.
The Accident Research Institute at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) conducted the study which was published in May this year.
In a 2018 study, the World Bank had said people in Dhaka face a waste of 3.8 million work hours, but BUET researchers said the amount is five million work hours.
The latest study also found 74 percent of accidents in Dhaka occur when pedestrians cross the streets.

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