This Eid-ul-Fitr, Bangladesh’s roads saw a sharp rise in accidents, claiming 351 lives and injuring 1,046 people in 346 road crashes, says a report of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.
The organisation presented the figures at a press briefing held at Dhaka Reporters Unit on Monday.
In addition to road incidents, rail and waterway accidents further raised the toll. Railway accidents accounted for 35 deaths and 223 injuries in 23 incidents, while eight waterway accidents left eight people dead, 19 injured and three missing. Altogether, 377 accidents across all modes of transport resulted in 394 fatalities and 1,288 injuries during the 15-day holiday period from March 14 to March 28.
BPWA’s road accident monitoring cell compiled the figures, which also show that 2,178 people were admitted to the National Orthopaedic Hospital due to road injuries.
Comparing the 15-day Eid period from 14 March to 28 March with last year’s data, fatalities rose 8.26 percent, accidents 8.95 percent, and injuries surged 21.05 percent.
Comparatively, 315 road accidents killed 322 and injured 826 in 2025. Motorcycles topped the accident chart. This Eid, 125 motorcycle crashes killed 135 people and injured 114, representing 36.12 per cent of all road accidents, 38.46 per cent of deaths, and 10.89 per cent of injuries.
Photo: AI generated Infographics/TIMESVictims included 71 drivers, 55 children, 54 pedestrians, 51 women, 42 students, ten transport workers, seven teachers, four law enforcement personnel, three political activists, three engineers, two journalists, one freedom fighter and one doctor.
Analysis of the accidents revealed that motorcycles were involved in 27.16 percent of cases, followed by trucks and covered vans (17.73 percent), buses (16.22 percent), and battery-run rickshaws (15.28 percent), cars and microbuses (8.49 percent), Nasimon-Karimon pickups (7.73 percent), and CNG-run autorickshaws (7.35 percent).
Collision types included 35.83 percent head-on, 32.36 percent pedestrian run-overs, 22.25 percent loss-of-control off-road crashes, 0.57 percent train-vehicle collisions, 0.57 percent scarf- or clothing-related, and 8.38 percent other causes.
Road types showed 43.06 percent of accidents on national highways, 30.05 percent on regional roads, 21.96 percent on feeder roads, 4.04 percent in Dhaka city, 0.28 percent in Chattogram city, and 0.57 percent at railway crossings.
Speaking at the briefing, BPWA General Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said the data was presented with an aim to support policymaking rather than criticism.
“Despite a new government, influence from previous officials and transport unions led to fare chaos and rising accidents,” he said. Mozammel listed some major causes of road accidents this year.
The list includes unregulated motorcycles, rickshaws, and autorickshaws; absence of road signs, markings, and street lighting; poor road dividers and visibility; road construction defects; vehicle defects; traffic law violations; wrong-way driving and overloading; untrained drivers and overworked operators; fare chaos during the holiday rush, which forced passengers onto unsafe transport modes, including truck beds, bus roofs, and train tops.
He recommended measures to reduce accidents which include increased use of technology and smart fare collection, banning unregistered motorcycles and battery rickshaws, improved road lighting, training competent drivers, enforcing digital fitness checks, 60-hour inclusive driving courses for licences, ending monopoly of transport owners, creating service lanes on major highways, preventing fare chaos and ensuring driver welfare.
The list also mentions proper use of pedestrian crossings, footpaths, road signs, and markings, modern bus networks and stronger BRTA oversight, quality road construction with regular safety audits and establishing a road accident research unit within the transport ministry. Mozammel also urged short, medium, and long-term planning to manage Eid travel and ease pressure on Dhaka.
The press briefing was also attended by BPWA Finance Secretary Mahmudul Hasan, members Alamgir Kabir and Monzur Hossain Isa, Drivers Welfare Foundation president Badal Ahmed, Monzur Hossain, and Azad Hossain Tipu.
