Taskforce to work from next week to bring discipline on roads: Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said a taskforce will be formed soon to bring discipline on roads and take effective steps for preventing road accidents in the country.

“The government has already decided to form a taskforce to check road accidents. The taskforce, headed by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, will start work next week,” he said.

The minister was talking to reporters at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) office here after a meeting of the National Road Safety Council.

“We’ve decided at the meeting to form the taskforce, headed by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. Apart from the representatives of different ministries, transport owner-worker leaders and members of civil society will be incorporated in the taskforce,” he said.

Quader, also the National Road Safety Council chief, said the Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary will perform responsibility as the office secretary in the taskforce.

During the meeting, it was informed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), DMP commissioner, chief executives of Dhaka city corporations, chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department, chairmen of BRTA and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), a representative of Cabinet Division, DIG of Highway Police and representatives of different transport owners and workers associations would be members of the taskforce.

Prof Shamsul Haque of the civil engineering department at Buet, columnist Syed Abul Maksud and Nirapad Sarak Chai chairman Ilias Kanchan will also be included in the taskforce.

In February this year, the 15-member body was formed at the 26th meeting of National Road Safety Council, asking it to submit its recommendations by March 10 for preventing road accidents and bringing discipline on the roads. The committee gave 111 recommendations to this end.

Quader, also Awami League General Secretary, said the meeting decided to implement the recommendations of the committee.

He said the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) has already approved a project to build restrooms on the highways for drivers and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance in upgrading Dhaka-Sylhet Highway into four lanes.

Chaired by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal , the meeting was attended, among others, by Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Akabbar Hossain, former shipping minister Shajahan Khan, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association president Moshiur Rahman Ranga, IGP Mohammad Javed Patwary, Transport and Highways Division Secretary Md Nazrul Islam, Prof Shamsul Haque of Buet and columnist Syed Abul Maksud.