Editorial
Fatalities increasing on roads and railways
Law enforcement key to providing safety to travelling public
AS if to jar the government into preventive action, two lethal accidents occurred around the same place in Tangail taking a toll of 35 lives and injuring 80 persons within a matter of four days.
In the first tragedy, an onrushing bus was rammed by an intercity train speeding in. The railway authorities were to blame for faulty signalling and lack of adequate precaution against human error as the guard could not lower the bar at the level crossing since he had fallen asleep. In the second accident, a speeding bus, run by an allegedly drowsy driver, skidded off the road to smash on the rail line. Here we would like to put the blame on the BRTA or the transport owner for the fact that a mentally unsound driver was at the wheels, perhaps with a licence, both for himself and his ramshackle vehicle.
Aside from the railways or the road transport authority drawing legitimate criticism for their inefficiency, callousness and corruption, there is the overarching cause behind such accidents in the absence of anything by way of law enforcement. The overloaded buses were invariably over-speeding with no one among the police around to stop them from their costly misadventures with human lives. For all we know, a highway police force was conceived and some of its squads put in place a few years ago with great fanfare and promises held out for security on the road. Some expensive vehicles were also purchased and inducted for high police officials. The highway police has had no separate budget; it had to depend on district police headquarters for financial purposes.
Given the growing sense of danger the travelling public face to their lives and limbs, we urge the caretaker government to get a move on. They must organise the highway police force on strong and sustainable foundations as a self-contained authority to deal with crimes and accidents. They should be well-equipped and properly trained to deliver the goods, expected of highway police in today's world.
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