299 killed in road accidents during Eid-ul-Azha

As many as 299 people were killed and 544 others injured in 277 road accidents across the country in 15 days during Eid-ul-Azha, according to a report of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger welfare platform.

During the festival, 93 people were killed in 88 road accidents involving truck, pickup and covered van, and 94 others in 91 motorbike accidents - 31.76% and 32.85% respectively of the total accidents - the report said.

The report was published on Saturday after analysing accident reports published in the country's national and regional dailies and online media from 22 June to 6 July.

Among the vehicles involved in the accidents were 22.37% motorbikes, 23.05% truck, pickup, covered van and lorry, 17.57% battery-run easy bikes or human haulers, 15.75% buses, 10.27% car, microbuses and jeeps, 5.57% three-wheelers and 4.56% CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

Of the accidents, 36.46% occurred on national highways, 29.24% on regional roads and 29.60% on other roads, with 1.8% of those in the capital.

According to the findings of Jatri Kalyan Samity, road accidents came down by 15.16%, while the number of deaths also decreased by 33.11% compared to last year during the Eid holidays, because of the good condition of roads.

During last year's Eid-ul-Azha, 398 travellers were killed in 319 road accidents, up from 273 deaths in 240 accidents during the same festival in 2021, said the organisation.    

Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of Jatri Kalyan Samity, blamed reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, unskilled drivers and helpers, plying of unfit vehicles and slow-moving three-wheelers and human-haulers on highways and violation of traffic rules for the accidents and casualties.