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KAMAL-ROAD SAFETY
Kamal for strict enforcement of laws, rules to strengthen road safety
DHAKA, Sept 24, 2019 (BSS) – Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today said
that strict enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations could reduce
the road accidents in the country to a big extent as the World Bank and the
UN joined hands together with the government to further improve road safety.
“Necessary laws, rules and regulations are there. If we can ensure
effective enforcement of those, then a lot of calamities and accidents will
be reduced…We should work together so that there is no more unnatural death
like from accidents,” he said.
The Finance Minister said while addressing an event titled ‘Road Safety
for All’ at a city hotel.
Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary Md Nazrul Islam, Vice-
President of the World Bank’s South Asia Region Hartwig Schafer and the UN
Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety Jean Todt spoke on the
occasion.
World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon gave
the address of welcome while UN Resident Coordinator Asa Torkelsson gave the
vote of thanks.
The Finance Minister said over the last 10 years of the Awami League
government, more than 21,000 kilometers of national, regional and district
highways were built in the country and these are sufficient enough to meet
the initial demand.
“Now time has come to go for quality and I’m sure if we go for quality,
the number of accidents on daily basis will be much less,” he added.
Noting that nobody in the world wants to die an unnatural death like from
road accident, Kamal said, “We (government, World Bank and UN) are here to
reaffirm our pledge that none of us will have an unnatural death like from
accident.”
Quoting reports from some think tanks, he said Bangladesh would become the
27th largest economy in the world by 2028 while the country is poised to
become a developed nation by 2041. “By that time, the demand of roads and
highways will be on the higher side.”
The Finance Minister said like the MDGs, Bangladesh would be able to
achieve the SDGs better than other countries and definitely the nation would
not be lagging behind.
Quoting police reports, Road Transport and Bridges Division Secretary Md
Nazrul Islam informed that some 2,500 road accidents took place every year in
Bangladesh leading to some 3,000 deaths.
He also highlighted various projects and operations of the government to
strengthen the road safety measures.
According to the World Bank, the road safety crisis has become a global
epidemic comparable to diseases such as Malaria, Tuberculosis or HIV.
Globally, about 1.35 million people die every year in road accidents, and
more than one-fourth of these fatalities are estimated to happen in South
Asia.
World Bank Vice-President for South Asia region Schafer said, “Apart from
enormous human toll, poor road safety can undermine a country’s growth and
development.”
“But, road accidents are largely preventable and the time to act is now.
The World Bank and the United Nations (UN) together stand ready to support
Bangladesh to improve road safety.” He added.
Mentioning that around two to five percent of GDP is lost every year to
road safety issue worldwide, Schafer said road safety in Bangladesh is a key
issue as the growing number of traffic and vehicles would lead to more
accidents.
UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety Todt said, “Road
crashes are the fourth leading cause of death of children aged between five
and 14, and 67 percent victims are within the 15-49 age group in Bangladesh.
The economic and human cost of the untimely deaths and injuries are immense,”
said Todt.
“Yet we see tremendous opportunity through the commitment that the
government has shown and we look forward to working together for better road
safety,” he added.
At the event, the World Bank and the UN jointly launched a video
competition ‘Road Safety Champions’ soliciting solutions to make Dhaka roads
safer. The competition is for the Bangladeshi youth between 18 to 23-year-
old. The details of the competition are available at
www.worldbank.org/Bangladesh.
Later, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Accident
Research Institute (ARI) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology (BUET) in presence of the distinguished guests.
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