Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity has questioned the interim government’s initiatives to curb road accidents, warning that legalising battery-run auto-rickshaws instead of introducing modern public transport would cripple Dhaka and Chattogram within a year.
“Exploiting the acute transport crisis, various unregulated vehicles such as battery-run auto-rickshaws have destroyed the country’s road network,” said Samity Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury at a press briefing ahead of National Road Safety Day 2025 on Tuesday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
“As a result, traffic congestion and road accidents have spiralled out of control,” he said.
He added that during the same period, 67,000 people were killed in the Israel-Palestine war and 45,000 in the Russia-Ukraine war, meaning Bangladesh’s road deaths surpassed global war casualties by a wide margin.
He said the chaos in the road transport sector stemmed from years of corruption, mismanagement, and extortion involving transport owners, workers, and some corrupt police officials during the Awami League regime. “This allowed unfit vehicles to operate freely, unlicensed and underage drivers to take control, and reckless driving to go unchecked,” he said.
Chowdhury added that even after the fall of the Awami League government, the Ministry of Road Transport, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and the traffic department have failed to reform policies and strategies, resulting in continued accidents and disorder on the roads.
He warned that without transparency and accountability in road safety and traffic management agencies, no visible progress could be achieved in reducing accidents or restoring order.
The Samity placed 12 recommendations, including an effective ban on the import and sale of motorcycles, battery-run and CNG-run auto-rickshaws, to reduce road accidents and protect public resources.
