Jatri Kalyan Samiti has urged the government to ban unfit vehicles from roads, railways, and waterways during Eid travel to minimize accidents, traffic congestion, and passenger suffering.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the association’s Secretary General Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury highlighted the annual influx of unfit buses, trucks, human haulers, three-wheelers, microbuses, and locally assembled vehicles such as Nasimon-Karimon into long-distance passenger transport services.
Expired water vessels and outdated railway coaches, engines, and tracks further increase the risk of accidents, derailments, and delays, causing immense hardship for travelers.
Citing statistics from last year’s Eid-ul-Fitr, he noted that 399 road accidents resulted in 407 deaths and 1,398 injuries. The railway sector saw 18 accidents, causing 24 deaths and 21 injuries, while two waterway accidents led to seven deaths and five injuries.
To prevent a repeat of such tragedies, he called for extensive preventive measures and increased public awareness. According to the statement, around 500,000 vehicles nationwide currently lack fitness certificates.
Additionally, an estimated 500,000 electric three-wheelers, 60,000 CNG-run auto-rickshaws, 700,000 battery-powered rickshaws, 100,000 Nasimon-Karimon vehicles, and 2 million motorcycles operate on national and regional highways daily, contributing to severe congestion and slowing down long-distance buses.
The association urged authorities to remove these vehicles from national highways immediately and called on regulatory agencies and law enforcement to clear illegal encroachments for smoother traffic movement.
Regarding security concerns, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury called for heightened law enforcement efforts to prevent crimes such as snatching, pickpocketing, and doping gangs. He emphasized the need for increased intelligence surveillance and stronger security measures to ensure safe travel for Eid holidaymakers.
