Staff Correspondent:

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to strengthen monitoring on the roads and highways across the country in a bid to prevent accidents during the journey of Eid-ul-Azha.

He came up with the instruction while addressing a meeting on ensuring safe journey of homebound passengers on the occasion of the Eid-ul-Azha.

“The number of road accidents goes up due to lax in surveillance on roads after Eid. These accidents are grave concerns for us. Surveillance on roads will have to be increased to prevent the recurrence of road accidents,” he said.

Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said attention will have to be paid to prevent bus helpers from driving. “It is sure, accidents will take place if the helpers operate vehicles,” he added.

Various strategic city points, including the entrances of the capital Dhaka, should be kept under extra vigilance and sufficiency of vehicles will have to be ensured to keep the Eid journey smoother and free from traffic jams, he said.

He also asked the authorities concerned to take steps to ensure smooth movement of vehicles on the city’s Hanif flyover.

Calling upon the bus owners not to charge extra fare from homebound people during Eid, he said many passengers do not have enough money to pay extra fare.

So the bus owners will have to strictly monitor the situation so that none can collect excessive fare from the passengers, Quader added.