Transport owners holding people hostage
The Bangladesh Goods Transport Owners Workers United Association's decision to abstain from work until their seven-point demands are met, which includes making changes to the Road Transport Act-2018, is shocking. By refusing to transport any goods, including life-saving medicine and food, they are in a sense holding people hostage, while making demands that are frankly illogical.
The demand for the unconditional release of drivers and staffers previously arrested in connection with road accident cases, for example, is outrageous. How they would even expect, let alone demand, that those responsible for the loss of human life should be released unconditionally is something that we fail to understand. Moreover, as large sections of society had expressed after parliament passed the Road Transport Act-2018, the punishment incorporated in the act, for deaths caused by reckless driving, is already too lenient—so to demand they be reduced further fails to hold water. And the more serious punishments they are also protesting only apply when drivers are found guilty of murder or culpable homicide—which are grave offences under any clause demanding severe punishments.
What this shows, however, is how far those in the transport sector have been allowed to extend their reach, mainly because of the political backing they have received for years on end, despite the endless loss of lives caused by reckless driving. That is what has emboldened them now to make demands that go against the public interest so openly.
We call on the authorities to not make any compromises when it comes to human lives and road safety. Furthermore, we urge the authorities to depoliticise the sector immediately so that the interest of some powerful individuals stops giving the entire sector a bad name—and which emboldens them to make demands that are unacceptable in any civilised society.
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