How many meetings till things change?
During its fourth meeting in February this year, a taskforce -- formed to bring down road crashes and bring discipline in the transport sector -- decided to form a committee to fix the economic service life of commercial vehicles, meaning for how many years they can be used.
The taskforce, led by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, in its fifth meeting in July, discussed the issue again and asked Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) to formulate a guideline for scraping outdated vehicles.
However, none of the goals have been achieved yet.
In its second meeting in December 2020, the taskforce decided that transport workers have to be given appointment letters. The issue was discussed in the following three meetings as well.
This decision too remains unimplemented.
Formed in October 2019, the taskforce was made to oversee the implementation of 111 recommendations of a high-powered committee to reduce road crashes and bring discipline in the transport sector.
With most of its previous decisions unimplemented, the taskforce is going to sit for its sixth meeting today, just five days after Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader expressed discontent over poor road conditions in the country.
At least 5,043 people were killed in 4,225 crashes in the first nine months of this year. The numbers were 6,284 and 5,371, respectively, in 2021 and 2020, according to Road Safety Foundation.
Talking to a discussion marking National Road Safety Day on October 22, Quader expressed his disappointment over the undisciplined transport sector despite the progress of major development projects.
Khondaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, also a member of the taskforce, told the same programme that the taskforce is holding meetings regularly, but no decision has been implemented yet.
Sadiqur Rahman Hiru, vice president of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, raised the same issue at the taskforce's fifth meeting on July 27.
He said 12 decisions were taken on the fourth meeting, and all of them remain unimplemented, reads the meeting minutes.
In March 2019, while placing the 111-point recommendation, a committee called for setting the economic service life of buses at 20 years and trucks at 25 years, identifying old vehicles as a key reason behind road accidents.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in November 2021 wrote a letter to RTHD to implement the recommendation.
The division in January this year asked BRTA to take Buet's opinion in this regard.
On October 11 this year, BRTA submitted a report to RTHD, about the progress in implementing the last meeting's decisions. In the report, BRTA mentioned that it sought Buet's opinion in February but is yet to get any opinion or guideline over this issue.
The taskforce also asked BRTA in the fifth meeting to place a work plan to assign separate registration numbers and uniforms to bikers who operate their vehicle under ride-sharing services.
BRTA, in its reply, said the officers concerned held a meeting over the issue on October 3 and will hold another meeting with ride-sharing companies soon.
Contacted, Yousub Ali Mollah, additional secretary of the division, and also a member of the taskforce, said today's meeting will discuss the progress of the decisions taken in the last meeting.
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