Bangladesh Road Transport and Bridges minister Obaidul Quader has blamed politicians for not following the traffic rules, saying: “Those who make law they have to obey it first.
‘If politicians do not follow the traffic rules, why then should the common people do so?’ he questioned. ‘If politicians follow the rules, everything will be on the right track,’ he said.
The minister was speaking as chief guest at a discussion meeting held in observance of National Road Safety Day 2018 at the Krishibid Institute on Monday.
This year’s slogan is: ‘Ain mene cholbo, nirapod shorok gorbo’ (We will make streets safe by following rules).
“Proper counselling has to be given to the members of parliament and ministers in order to make them obey traffic rules,” said the minister.
“Awareness building is the only way to reduce road accidents. Without maintaining discipline on roads we cannot minimize accidents,” he added.
“Road accidents never happen for a single reason. Other factors are also involved;it is not an individual responsibility. Everyone has to come forward to solve the problem” said Ilias Kanchan, Chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai.
“Not only unskilled drivers or unfit vehicles, the increasing number of motorcycles are also responsible for road accidents,” said Shajahan Khan, Member of Bangladesh Parliament and current Minister of Shipping.
State Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Mashiur Rahman Ranga said, “I wouldlike to thank Ilias Kanchan for his remarkable initiative regarding road safety,government initiativesare also bringing some positive changes. I hope through effective traffic management, the traffic police might bring more changes in future and minimise the number of road accidents.”
Ekabbar Hossain, MP, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Road Transport and Bridges, Md Nazrul Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Md Moshiar Rahman, BRTA Chairman were also present on the occasion.
