Road accidents during this Eid-ul-Fitr holiday rush claimed 323 lives in just 15 days, even though long-haul buses were off the road due to Covid-19 lockdown, said Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti on Sunday. At least 318 road crashes occurred during May 7- 21 period, the passenger welfare forum revealed while presenting its road accident report-2021 at a press briefing here. The report also said 622 people were injured in road accidents during the period when lakhs of people hit the road to celebrate the Eid festival with their families in village homes. The Eid was celebrated on May 14 during the Covid-19 lockdown. Also read: 249 lives lost on the road during Eid holidays The number of road crashes usually increase as people’s movement surges during such festival.  According to the report, the number of both deaths and accidents on the road increased this year. Due to lockdown, public transports remained suspended, but the holidaymakers packed private cars, microbuses, motorcycles, auto rickshaws, trucks, pick-up vans and covered vans. The report also stated that among the deceased, 35 were women, 22 children, 69 pedestrians and 31 transport workers, and 96 drivers.    Also read: Rab member, another killed in Gazipur road accident According to the report, like other years accidents on motorcycles were at top recording 139 deaths in 144 accidents this year. This accounts for 45.28% of the total accidents and 43.03 % of the total deaths recorded. About 32.28 percent accidents took place in national highways, 40.88 percent in regional highways, 22.32 percent in feeder roads, the report stated analyzing the types of accidents. Members of the road accidents monitoring cell of the forum prepared the report collecting information from widely published and trustworthy national, regional, daily newspapers and online portals in the 15 days. Also read: Rickshaw puller killed in city road crash Of the total accidents 3.14% occurred in Dhaka and 1.25% in Chattogram. The report also mentioned 331 people died and 772 sustained injuries in 322 accidents occurring jointly on the country's road, rail and waterways. “Movement of only 8 to10 percent of the population caused so many accidents and deaths only due to negligence of the concerned authority and organizations liable for road safety,” said Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, general secretary of the Jatri Kalyan Samity. He strongly demanded that the government prioritizes the road safety and take necessary measures. Also read: Road accidents in Bangladesh claim 468 lives in April Public transport expert and director of FBCCI, Abdul Haque said, “transport owners face graft  and suffer a lot when they go to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) for fitness tests or other services”. Thus lead to an increase in the movement of unfit vehicles, he said

At least 513 people, including 63 children, were killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents in March, Road Safety Foundation said Monday. The non-government organisation also said 147 lives were lost in 138 motorcycle accidents, which is 28.65% of the total deaths. Also, around 136 pedestrians and 82 drivers and their assistants were killed in accidents last month. Also read: Bangladesh's roads remain perilous; 37,170 killed in 5 years Accidents on waterways claimed at least two lives and injured eight while 19 were killed and 15 injured in train accidents. The maximum number of road accidents took place in Dhaka division where 136 accidents claimed 119 lives while Barishal saw the lowest number of accidents where 26 lives were lost in 21 accidents.  Road Safety Foundation came up with the findings, based on the reports of seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media. It pinned the blame on unfit vehicles, speed, unskilled drivers, slow-moving transport on highways, reckless motorcycle driving and weak traffic management. Also read: 8 killed in separate road crashes in Faridpur Meanwhile, at least 484 people were killed and 673 others injured in 427 road accidents in January this year. The accident rate increased 25.58% while fatalities rose by 8.76% compared to the same period of last year, Road Safety Foundation said. "At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020." Also read: 3 dead in Jashore, Panchagarh road accidents In a report released in February 2020, 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 linked the high death rate on Bangladesh's roads with a lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.

Four passengers were killed and three more were injured as two CNG autorickshaws collided with a truck at Rangunia upazila on the Chattogram-Kaptai road. The incident took place around 8pm on Thursday (March 25) in the Kalugotta area of Chandraghona-Kadamtali union in Rangunia. Also read: 7 dead, 10 injured in four different road accidents across the country The deceased were identified as Daisy Dutt (35), Abul Kalam (7), Md. Akbar Hossain (25) and child Adrish Souma. Rangunia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mahabub Milki said the two CNG autorickshaws collided with a  Chattogram-bound truck from Chandraghona area of Rangamati at Balugutta. Four passengers were taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital in critical condition and the on-duty doctor declared them dead. Also Read: Bangladesh's roads remain perilous; 37,170 killed in 5 years He added that the bodies were kept in the morgue of the hospital and the injured are being treated.

At least eight people, including a woman and a child, were killed and 10 others injured in separate road accidents in Madhukhali and Bhanga upazilas of Faridpur district on Sunday.

At least 2 persons were killed in separate road crashes in Sitakunda.

At least seven persons have been killed and 10 more got injured in four different road accidents in different parts of the the country on Saturday.

At least 484 people were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents throughout the country in January this year.