Jatiya Party (JaPa) MP Mujibul Haque Chunnu has asked: "Who drives Bangladesh’s [additional] 1.8 million cars?” during the first session of the 11th parliament, on Tuesday.
He presented a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) which stated that—in contrast to the registered 3.8 million vehicles in Bangladesh—there are only 200,000 registered drivers.
He surmised: “Surely people are driving using fake driver’s licences," and added: "Many of those who implement the law are the owners of these cars. It is because of this reason that necessary steps are not taken in this regard."
Expressing concern over the number of deaths in road accidents, the opposition has asked the government to implement the prime minister’s 5-point directive to bring discipline to the roads.
The leader of the opposition, Chunnu, said: "Road accidents occur all over the world. However, road accidents in Bangladesh are more frequent. Recently, the number of road accidents has increased, and many are dying as a result."
The Jatiya Party presidium member said: "We occasionally see our road transport minister going to the street and demanding the licence of a baby taxi [CNG-fueled autorickshaw] driver. However, road accidents still take place and panic is created among the public. Is there no-one to monitor this?"
Referring to the safe roads movement, Chunnu said: "The prime minister issued a 5-point directive to avoid road accidents. Question the road transport minister regarding the implementation of the prime minister’s directives. When does he plan to implement them?"