Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity has accused the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association of failing to keep its promise to stop charging extra fares during the Eid-ul-Adha travel period and urged authorities to take immediate steps to ensure safe and affordable travel for passengers.
Jatri Kalyan Samity claimed that the collection of extra fares forces many low-income passengers to seek cheaper but unsafe means of travel, increasing the risk of accidents.
In a statement sent to the media today (25 May), the organisation’s Secretary General, Md Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, alleged that bus operators in various districts were collecting excess fares despite assurances that such practices would be stopped during the Eid journey.
According to the organisation, every year during Eid, many low-income people, including day labourers, construction workers and other informal-sector workers, are compelled to travel on train roofs, bus roofs, open trucks and goods-laden vehicles because they cannot afford higher transport fares.
Mozammel called on the authorities to enforce the transport owners’ commitment to stop collecting extra fares and ensure compliance with government directives during the Eid travel period.
He also urged passengers to avoid risky travel practices, including riding on the roofs of buses and trains, travelling in open or goods-laden trucks, and using unfit buses and launches.
The organisation said such measures are necessary to reduce accidents and make the Eid journey safer for passengers across the country.
Notably, 15 working-class people were killed and six others seriously injured when a truck carrying rods overturned in the Saratail area of Kalihati upazila in Tangail while they were travelling from Chattogram to Naogaon today. Additionally, two people died after being struck by lightning while travelling on the roof of a train in Ghorashal, Narsingdi.
Referring to these incidents, the organisation alleged that the state repeatedly fails to ensure safe and comfortable travel for people whose labour contributes significantly to the country’s economy.
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