United News of Bangladesh

Local people set two dump trucks on fire after a trader was killed after being hit by one of them on Dhaka–Rajshahi highway in Puthia upazila of Rajshahi district on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Akram, 60, owner of a tailoring shop in Sardah Thanapara of Rajshahi district. The Natore-bound sand-laden dump truck knocked Akram  down while he was crossing the road and dragged him for a few yards, leaving him dead on the spot around 7 am in front of Biraldah Mazar. Angered by the accident, local people blocked the highway and set fire to the dump truck. They also set anther dump truck on fire which was passing the highway at that time. Meanwhile, locals also set fire to some mobile phone sets and vandalised others as some people were found recording video footage of the incident on mobile phones. Vehicular movement on the highway remained halted for some time following the accident. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, said Officer-in-Charge of Puthia Police Station Faridul Islam. Locals demanded a ban on dump truck movement in the area during daytime and the installation of speed breakers on the road. Farhad Hossain, Deputy Assistant Director of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence, said they extinguished the fire with the help of police and local people.    

Two class ten students lost their lives after the motorbike they were riding plunged off a flyover in Meherchandi Overpass area of Rajshahi city on Saturday evening. The deceased were Nahian Hasan, 17, son of Azizur Rahman of Chakpara area of the city and Piasur Rahman Pias, 17, son of Piarul Islam of Meherchandi Uttarpara. They were class ten students of Kharkhari High School in the city. Road accident leaves three killed, 30 injured in Gopalganj Officer-in-charge of Motihar police station Abul Malek said the speeding bike hit a road divider after falling off the flyover when it lost control in the Meherchandi Overpass area, adjacent to Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology. They were rushed to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital where physicians declared them dead upon arrival, he said.

Two people, including a woman, were killed after a truck collided head-on with an auto-rickshaw in Murailipur of Paba upazila in Rajshahi on Wednesday afternoon. One of the deceased was identified as Ansar Ali, 40, while the identity of the woman could not be known immediately. Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence Senior Station Officer Abdur Rauf said a Chapainawabganj-bound truck hit an auto-rickshaw at 2:45pm, killing two people on the spot and injuring two others. Also read: 7 dead, 10 injured in four different road accidents across the country Police have recovered the bodies from the spot, he said. Road accidents in Bangladesh Road accidents in Bangladesh claim hundreds of lives every year. At least 484 people were killed and 673 others injured in as many as 427 road accidents in January this year. According to Road Safety Foundation (RSF), the accident rate increased by 25.58 percent while fatalities rose by 8.76 percent in January compared to the same period last year. Also Read: Bangladesh's roads remain perilous; 37,170 killed in 5 years At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020, according to RSF. In a report released in February last year, the World Bank said Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities. The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to a lack of investment in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.

A woman and her son were killed when a truck hit a motorbike on Godagari-Nachole road at Kazipara Sautalpara in Godagari upazila of Rajshahi district on Thursday night.