The government has decided to ban CNG-run autorickshaws on the country’s highways with a view to reducing road accidents, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday.
Speaking at a press briefing in his office at the Secretariat, the minister further said the authorities had also decided to make it mandatory to assign at least two drivers to every long-haul bus during a trip.
He said reckless driving was the main reason behind the road accidents that claimed the lives during the Eid holidays, refuting the allegations of faulty roads.
Talking about accident-prone areas on the highways, the minister said: “We have identified four such black spots in Sirajganj. We have taken some steps to solve this problem, and will start with construction of road divider on the roads, similar to Dhaka-Aricha road.”
He said traffic situation on Dhaka-Tangail highway collapsed before Eid because eight vehicles had broken down on the road at the same time.
“We stepped in to resolve the issue and cleared out the road in a short time.”
He further said although the bus owners had promised not to use unfit vehicles for Eid trips, they clearly did.
“We have decided to punish the bus owners who ran their unfit vehicles during Eid rush, as well as the officials who did not monitor the roads properly.”
However, the officials who did their jobs well during Eid holidays would be rewarded as well, Quader added.
Speaking of road development, the minister said the construction of 70-km four-lane highway from Joydebpur, Gazipur to Elenga, Tangail would begin in September.
Following that project, the road between Elenga to Bonpara-Hatokomrul via Bangabandhu Bridge will be upgraded. “This project will cut down the number of road accidents.”