he World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR)-2024 was observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world on Sunday (November 17) in memory of those injured or killed in road crashes.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) observed the day. On the occasion, the DNCC in collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and Vital Strategies arranged a roundtable discussion at the conference room of Nagar Bhaban. The roundtable concluded with one-minute silence to honour the victims of the crashes on Dhaka roads.
Mir Khairul Alam, chief executive officer of DNCC chaired roundtable discussion. He said that the DNCC is working to make roads within its jurisdiction safer. Various initiatives are being taken in this regard. The DNCC has been working with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and other government, non-government and concerned international organisations to make the city streets safer for people. For this reason, the DNCC has partnered with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) aiming to reduce road traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries in Dhaka city, he added.
Md. Abdul Wadud, initiative coordinator of BIGRS; moderated the roundtable discussion where Aminul Islam Sujon, an expert on road safety and technical advisor of Vital Strategies; presented the keynote paper.
Khandaker Mahbub Alam, superintending engineer of Traffic Engineering Circle of DNCC; delivered the welcome speech, while Brigadier General Md. Moin Uddin, chief engineer of DNCC; Sufian Ahmed, joint commissioner (traffic-north) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP); and Architect Farzana Islam Toma spoke on the occasion, among others.
In his keynote presentation, Aminul Islam Sujon said that WoDR is observed to provide a podium to the families of road crash victims to remember the lives of those who died prematurely and those who were maimed and robbed off their normal physical and social functioning because of road crashes. WoDR also facilitates dialogues involving a larger audience to ensure legal rights of the crash victims and to minimize deaths on road through the implementation of evidence-based measures suggested and backed by local research.
He added that this year upholds the stories of ‘THAT DAY’ when traffic collisions stopped or changed the course of the victim’s lives forever. Each victim has their individual tidings and unfortunate stories which their families and loved ones carry in their memory. The emotional charge of that day is so strong that it remains in memory forever. Therefore, on WoDR 2024, remember the stories of “that day”.
In his speech, Brigadier General Md. Moin Uddin said that those who are killed on the roads in Dhaka are mostly pedestrians, motorcycle and bicycle users. So, it is important to ensure pedestrians’ safety on footpaths and roads. DNCC is working to create safer footpaths and roads.
He further said, evidence suggests that competition during overtaking may lead to fatal road crashes. This lethal culture among drivers must not go unchecked. By and large, all road users should be careful and abide by the traffic rules while using the road.
Khandaker Mahbub Alam called upon everyone to continue their support to strengthen road safety in Dhaka.
Sufian Ahmed of DMP said that the DMP has been working to make Dhaka's roads safer in accordance with the enforcement capacity that have been granted to the police under the Road Transport Act 2018 and Road Transport Rules 2022. Cooperation from everyone is necessary to ensure road safety.
In the open discussion, speakers said that road crashes impose serious threats on public health and human lives. It is an actual pandemic, affecting primarily our vulnerable and our young, which in addition to the trauma of injury and bereavement has also a devastating economic impact for countries, communities and families.
They said that pedestrians, motorcycle and bicycle users are more vulnerable in Dhaka. More than half of those killed in Dhaka are pedestrians and motorcyclists.
Ms. Rownak Karim, a retired teacher of BAF Shaheen School and College and a mother who lost her only child Shouvik Arjun in the same fatal crash that took the life of Ariful Islam; reminisces that she had to gone through a lot of hassles to get the death certificate of her son.
She urged the authorities concerned to provide administrative support to those families whose dear ones get killed in road crashes to ease and support the grieving families.
Rebecca Sultana Nila, a teacher who lost her husband Ariful Islam (42) in a deadly crash; said that this was an institutional killing borne of negligence from the pertinent city institutions and stakeholders. “That crash took place because of a large pothole, a rickshaw on the wrong side and a speeding truck on the road. Because of these factors I have lost my husband, and my child lost her father,” she said.
Musabbir Hossain (38), who was severely injured in a motorcycle crash in Hatirjheel, recounted his experience stating that an over speeding vehicle hit him from behind and ran away. He mentioned that he only survived because he was wearing a standard helmet although he remained unconscious for around 17 hours. He has pleaded with everyone to avoid speeding on the road.
It was addressed, among others, by Mohammad Arifur Rahman, Addl. Chief Engineer of DNCC; Rezaur Rahman, Transport Coordinator – BIGRS; Tamanna Mizan, Manager – BRAC Road Safety Project; Kazi Borhan Uddin, Project Manager – Road Safety Program of Center for Injury Prevention and Research (CIPRB); Naeem Raihan Khan, Executive Engineer – Traffic Engineering Circle, DNCC; Md. Monowarul Islam, Advocacy Officer – Dhaka Ahsania Mission; and Md. Julhas Ahmed, Project Officer - Dhaka International University (DIU).
