Life before livelihood
PM asks all to come forward to ensure road safety
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said ensuring road safety is not the responsibility of the government or drivers alone; all will have to come forward to ensure it.
“Ensuring safe roads is not the responsibility of the government or the drivers only; it is the responsibility of all citizens. Everyone should perform their duty,” she said.
The premier said this while addressing a programme marking National Road Safety Day 2019 at Krishibid Institution, organised by Road Transport and Highways Division.
This year’s theme of the day is “Life before livelihood; no more road accidents.”
The prime minister asked all -- especially educated people -- to obey traffic rules. “Our footpaths are always occupied… these have to be freed [from illegal occupants],” she said,
On illegal and indiscriminate car parking on roads, Sheikh Hasina said many shopping malls, while taking approval from the authorities concerned, show car-parking spaces in their designs, but later sell those spaces to shops.
The PM asked traffic officials to be strict about illegal car parking on roads and impose fine if any rules are broken.
She added, “It’s possible to ensure the economic development of a region through ensuring the development of road communications.”
Hasina mentioned that the government is working to build a modern, safe transport network all over the country. Some 446.7 kilometres of national highways have been upgraded to four lanes or more, while the upgradation of 149 kilometres of national highways into four lanes is underway.
The government has constructed 1,068 bridges and 4,656 culverts along with nine flyovers. Eight underpasses have been constructed or renovated while the construction of 82 more bridges are underway, she said.
She also mentioned that 46.73 km Dhaka Elevated Expressway is being constructed, while the construction of a 20km Bus Rapid Transit stretching from Gazipur to Airport will be completed soon. “We’ve approved two new Metro Rail projects in an Ecnec meeting recently,” she said.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader; Parliamentary Standing Committee member on the ministry Ekabbar Hossain; Chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai Ilias Kanchan; and Executive President of Road Transport Workers’ Federation Shahjahan Khan also spoke on the occasion.