Separate railway ministry demanded

Speakers at a sit-in programme yesterday called for separate ministry for railway to reduce road accidents in Bangladesh.
They said building integrated rail communications system in the country will help reduce transportation costs as well as environmental pollution.
Two green organisations, Protysha and Greenbelt jointly organsed the programme in front of the National Museum at Shahbag yesterday noon demanding separate railway ministry.
Speakers said around 55,000 people were killed in road accidents in the last 15 years and thousands of crores of taka have been spent to modernise road communications during the period.
The campaigners said the railway system was a comfortable and safe mode of transport but the system has been destroyed in the name of development.
Road communications is still being given top priority over railway despite increase in road accidents every year due to reckless driving, poor implementation of law and absence of proper driving policies, they said.
They pointed out that manpower in rail communications was not increased during the previous years rather trips of many long route trains were downsized.
Apart from developing rail centric communications system, improving waterways system and incorporating roads with rail and waterways are also imperative to ensure transportation to the country's ever-increasing population, they added.
Chairman of Paribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) Abu Naser Khan, member secretary of Unnyandhara Trust Aminur Rasul, among others, spoke at the programme.