Over a decade ago, Syed Rezaul Karim sustained severe injuries after a human hauler crashed into his rickshaw in Dhaka’s Agargaon area. He survived, but had to undergo numerous surgeries in the space of three years to recover.
The family had a monthly income of about Tk50,000 with three of their children studying in universities and one in a private school. When the family found it impossible to pay for his regular treatment, they had to borrow money from relatives and friends.
To cover the cost of the treatment and other family needs, they also sold their flat.
Syed’s family is one of many in Bangladesh who experience similar ordeals. The situation is even worse for people from low-income backgrounds.
Every year, more than 4,000 individuals in Bangladesh die in traffic accidents, leaving their families in terrible financial straits. Even if there were survivors, the families would still need to cover expenses such as medical bills, property damage, loss in wages for the family, etc.
Faisal Hasan from Chittagong lost his father on February 14, 2018 when the CNG carrying him faced an accident on a highway. The family of the retired public servant was dependent on his pension income, and they were at a loss after his sudden demise.
Migrant worker Rasel Mia came home from Oman to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with his family in May. He sustained severe injuries on the night of Eid due to a motorcycle accident.
“I am finished, and my family is in despair. Only God knows how we are surviving right now,” he said, adding that his family members were worried about whether he would be able to return to a normal life again.
The Road Safety Foundation says 6,284 people died and 7,468 were injured in 5,371 road accidents in 2021. According to the Passenger Welfare Association, 7,809 deaths and 9,039 injuries were recorded in 5,629 accidents in that year.
However, people involved in the sector said the actual number was much higher, as many accidents went unreported.
Compensation scheme not finalized yet
Doctors at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) said most people who arrived at their hospital with broken bones were survivors of road crashes. Even if some people recover through long-term treatment, very few of them can return to living as they did before.
Bangladesh does not have an official record of how many people lose their physical abilities after road accidents annually. But a 2017 survey by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) says road accidents leave 220 people disabled each day.
According to the Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), 54% of the people killed in road accidents in the last decade were aged between 16 to 40 years old.
A 2017 report by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) puts the economic loss at Tk24,60,000 if a working person is killed in a road accident. The report, however, did not include economic hardship, job losses or other issues faced by the family of a deceased.
Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, general secretary of Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, demanded the immediate introduction of a financial compensation scheme for the people affected by road accidents in line with the Road Transport Act 2018.
“Most of the people dying in road accidents are working people, and their death is having a huge impact on the national economy and their dependents,” he said.
According to the Act, if someone dies in a road accident, the person’s family will get Tk5,00,000 while it is Tk3,00,000 in case of an injury. However, the provision has not been implemented as the required rules have not been formed since the passage of the Act in Parliament.
Dhaka Tribune called BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder, also the chairman of a 12-member trustee board to settle compensation claims, to get to know about the status of their activities, however, the calls went unanswered.