Unauthorised sleeper buses are operating on the Sylhet-Dhaka highway despite lacking permission to operate in this configuration, raising concerns about road safety and increasing the risk of accidents.
The question of the sleeper buses’ safety arises after a head-on collision between a Unique Paribahan bus and a Bengal Paribahan bus left nine people killed at Osmaninagar yesterday (7 August) morning. Bengal’s vehicle was a double-decker sleeper bus.
A video of the accident circulating on social media shows the Bengal bus apparently losing control while attempting to overtake at high speed before colliding with the Dhaka-bound Unique bus.
The impact sent the Unique bus off the highway and into an adjacent paddy field. All deceased were passengers of the Unique bus.
Officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, police and transport sector said sleeper buses do not have specific permission to operate on the highway. However, Bengal Paribahan and another Paradise Paribahan are running those buses on the route.
Ziaul Haque Palash, former general secretary of the Sylhet District Road Transport Owners Association, said most sleeper buses operating on the roads were originally built as ordinary buses.
“The chassis and body are designed for ordinary buses. So, these vehicles cannot maintain proper balance during emergencies or risky situations, increasing the likelihood of accidents,” he said.
Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sherpur Highway Police Station, said a dashboard camera of a vehicle travelling behind the Unique bus captured the accident.
“The video clearly shows the positions of the vehicles at the time of the accident. The Bengal bus was out of control and hit the oncoming Unique bus, pushing it into a paddy field,” he said.
Rafiqul Islam, assistant director of the BRTA Sylhet office, told TBS that there was no approval system for sleeper buses in Bangladesh.
“Owners initially register these vehicles as ordinary AC buses and obtain fitness certificates. Later, they modify the interiors to convert them into sleeper buses without obtaining fresh approval or undergoing another fitness test,” he said.
He warned that changing a vehicle’s original design significantly increases accident risks.
Rafiqul said both buses involved in the accident were not registered in Sylhet and were likely approved by the BRTA’s Dhaka office.
Sylhet Highway Police Superintendent Rezaul Karim said the BRTA had not issued any directive to highway police declaring AC sleeper buses illegal.
“If we received such a directive, we would take action,” he said.
However, Mainul Haque, president of the Sylhet District Road Transport Workers Union, alleged that some illegal sleeper buses operate on the highways with the financial support of officials concerned.
Despite repeated attempts, Bengal Paribahan’s Sylhet branch manager Kamrul Islam could not be reached over mobile phone.
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