A probe committee of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has suggested fining jaywalkers in the capital Tk2,000 or sentencing them to three months in prison.
BRTA Secretary Shakawat Ali Khan told the Dhaka tribune a recommendation letter with 15 suggestions was sent to the Road Transport and Highways Division on Tuesday.
The punitive measures will apply to the pedestrians who jaywalk by avoiding footbridges, underpasses or zebra crossings.
The committee in the letter said pedestrians use roads but have not been included in the Motor Vehicle Act. It suggested including them in the draft amendment to the act which will be tabled in the parliament to have the recommendations implemented.
The committee was formed to probe the death of veteran journalist Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, who died in a road accident in Karwan Bazar on November 29 last year.
But the committee and police have failed to identify the bus that killed Zaglul and its driver even after a month-long investigation.
The committee, headed by BRTA Director Moshiar Rahman, is comprised of Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoj, Imtiaz Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Traffic Division (North), Nahmudul Hasan, urban planner of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, and Abdur Rajjak, traffic control officer of Dhaka North City Corporation.
The committee has also recommended the case be transferred to the CID for a more detailed investigation.
Rajjak told the Dhaka Tribune the committee found it difficult to carry out the probe because of lack of cooperation on the part of witnesses. “That is why we suggested the CID be assigned to carry out further investigations.”
It was said in the report that reckless driving and medical malpractice caused Zaglul’s death.
One of the 15 recommendations made by the committee was to establish more bus stops in Dhaka city to bring down the number of unexpected accidents.
Another recommendation included setting up a police team, who will help take road accident victims to hospital.
MAN Siddique, secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, told the Dhaka Tribune the recommendations would be discussed before acting on those.
