At least 86,690 people were killed and 1,53,257 more injured in 62,619 road accidents in the country in the past 11 years, according to the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh.
The association, a non-governmental organisation, at a discussion on Saturday also urged the government to introduce advanced public transport to reduce road casualties and reduce traffic congestion.
They held the discussion at the Dhaka Reporter鈥檚 Unity in the capital, marking Passenger Rights Day, a day the association observes, said a press release.
Passenger Welfare Association tallies road accidents and resulting casualties obtained from the reports published in the national dailies and seven online news portals, broadcast by the electronic media and from its own sources.
Quoting the World Bank, association founder and secretary general Md Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury said that traffic congestion kills about 32 lakh work hours in the capital Dhaka only every day, the financial loss of which was around Tk 98,000 crore.
He also said that fuel worth around Tk 11,000 crore is wasted daily in Dhaka city alsone due to traffic congestion.
The absence of effective public transport currently compels about 56 per cent commuters in the city to use cars, Mozammel said, alleging that wrong policies of the past government contributed to the rise of road accidents and worsening of traffic congestion as well. 聽
He also blamed the interim government for not taking reform measures for the road transport sector.聽
Traffic congestion also damages physical and mental health by causing anxiety, high blood pressure, lung cancer and respiratory problems and affecting the entire immune system, kidney, heart and reproductive system, he continued.
Association activists also urged all political parties to formulate their plans for reducing road accident fatalities and traffic congestion in their election manifestos.
The discussion was attended, among others, by the AB party senior vice-chairman Professor Abdul Wahab Minar, Gono Odhikar Parishad senior vice-president Faruk Hasan, Ganosamhati Andolan presidium member Dipak Roy, and National Citizen Party senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adib.
