Staff Reporter:

At least 351 people were killed and 1,046 injured in 346 road accidents across Bangladesh during the Eid-ul-Fitr rush from March 14 to 28.

Md Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, revealed the figures at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on March 30.

“If we analyse the casualties of the recent war in Iran over the past 15 days, the toll from road crashes in Bangladesh is several times higher,” he said.

The organisation’s report, compiled from media monitoring, found motorcycles were involved in the most accidents. At least 135 people died and 114 were injured in 125 motorcycle crashes, nearly 39% of road fatalities.

Other incidents included 23 railway accidents that killed 35 and eight waterway accidents that left eight dead and three missing. Overall, 394 people died and 1,288 were injured in 377 accidents across roads, rail, and waterways.

During the period, 2,178 people were admitted to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor).

Among vehicles involved in road accidents, motorcycles accounted for 27 percent, trucks and vans 18 percent, and buses 16 percent. Most accidents were head-on collisions (36 percent) or involved pedestrians (32 percent), with 43 percent occurring on national highways.

Mozammel criticised the government’s Eid planning, saying passenger representatives were excluded from meetings due to pressure from transport owners and workers’ federations. He blamed fare anarchy and road chaos on these syndicates, contrasting the situation with the interim government period when such groups had less influence.