While road accidents continue to be a prevailing concern for the country, incidents like the recent Jhalakathi bus accident are a devastating reminder of just how much callousness is often involved.
The bus that plunged into a roadside pond in the Chhatrakanda area on Saturday claimed 17 lives and left many more severely injured -- for which the driver and his accomplices were found responsible on a number of levels.
That the driver did not have a license to drive larger vehicles and insisted on taking on more passengers than the capacity allowed are reasons enough to question his qualifications as a bus driver. It is also a matter of immense frustration that the perpetrators have not yet been caught to be reprimanded for the devastation they've caused.
Overcrowded vehicles and unlicensed drivers have historically been some of the most common factors in road accident cases, and the fact that they continue to go unchecked and unaccounted for is infuriating, to say the least -- especially when enforcing stricter laws against such practices could protect countless lives.
While the police have filed a case against the three perpetrators in this case, the chances of similar incidents being prevented in the future, unfortunately, seem slim unless drastic steps are taken.
The authorities must not only enforce stricter measures to ascertain the eligibility of drivers and vehicles on the road, but also establish laws that ensure severe consequences for anyone violating basic road safety laws.
If we are to put an end to road tragedies as such that have become so commonplace in our country, there needs to be a collective effort to change the way people in charge on the roads operate and start demanding accountability from those involved in such catastrophes.
We cannot keep putting more of our people's lives at risk.
