Nirapad Sarak Chai (NISCHA), a volunteer platform working for road safety, has decided to stop publishing any statistics on accidents in Bangladesh.
The organization has taken this decision due to the public controversy over the statistics of road accidents.
NISCHA Chairman Ilias Kanchan made this announcement at a press conference on “Confusing stats of road accidents” in the capital’s National Press Club on Monday.
He said: “NISCHA has been publishing road accident statistics since 2012. The government and countrymen have been informed that we have started the work with limited capacity. We used to collect this information using the information provided by our branches across the country and from newspapers, electronic media online news portals and various media. I have also been saying that it is not enough to collect data.”
Ilyas Kanchan said that many controversies are being created on the statistics of road accidents.
"We have presented the statistics of road accidents from 2012-2022. But now many organizations are providing statistics. It is creating controversies. For this reason, I have decided not to publish the statistics for 2023,” he said.
He said: "From the beginning, we have claimed that no private organization or individual can show the true picture of road accidents. This requires a round-the-clock monitoring cell and manpower of the government along with technological support. The cooperation from the government is essential here.”
“The police report on accidents is different from our report, which is based on immediate cases. The accident report only includes information about the accident, not the injuries. Many injured people die during treatment, and if death occurs within 30 days, it is considered a road accident death. The police report is not acceptable, and the debate on accident statistics intensifies as organizations provide different information,” said NISCHA chairman.
He said that when Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder commented that the information provided by the World Health Organization and various non-governmental organizations was exaggerated, it confused the public.
Replying to a question regarding the difference in the statistics, the chairman of NISCHA said: "The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is a government organization, and so is BRTA. So why there is a difference in the information provided by both sources? Due to this mutually antagonistic position of the two Ministries, the cause of accidents in the country could not be ascertained properly. The accident death toll is getting longer. The list of injured is also increased to double-triple. The work that we have started will be undertaken to guide the government. Let the government start working on this.”
“As the government is keen to present the true picture of road accidents through BRTA, I will not disclose this information from my organization. Our cell will be open for our research. However, we would like the government to form a strong monitoring cell with those who are skilled in the private sector. With support and financial allocation, we can also do the work with the government,” said Ilias Kanchan.
