Staff Correspondent:

To prevent death on the road, the road must be made safe. Hence adoption of robust road safety laws following the safety strategy set by the United Nations is important.

The speakers made this demand at the seminar organized on the occasion of ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’ on Sunday. Bangladesh Orthopedic Society, National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh observed the day with various events today under the initiative of Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed globally on the third Sunday of November every year in memory of road crash victims. This year the theme of the day is – Remember, Support, Act.

On the occasion of the day, a procession was taken out from the National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) on Sunday morning to demand safer roads. Road accident victims, their family members and people from various walks of life participated in the procession.

After the procession, a seminar was organized in the auditorium of NTOR. Professor Abdul Gani Mollah, Director, NITOR presided over the seminar. Manjuli Kazi, wife of prominent journalist and photo director Mishuk Munier, who died in a road crash, was present as the chief guest in the seminar. She said that it is possible to make the road safe if the road safety law is implemented properly. But the law is still not being implemented. A group is against the law because, it will hamper their business if it is implemented properly.

Prof. Khandkar Abdul Awal (Rizvi), Former Director of NITOR and Secretary General of National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh attended the seminar as special guest. He said, to make the roads safe, various long-term, mid-term and short-term action plans are needed. Bringing order to the streets of Dhaka is the first priority and we have the necessary manpower for this. In this way, problems should be solved one by one.

In-Country Coordinator of Global Health Advocacy Incubator Dr. Shariful Alam said, to make the roads safe, the guidelines made by the United Nations must be implemented. These are safe road, safe vehicle, safe road users, post-crash management and ensuring safe environment for drivers.

In the seminar, Nikhil Bhadra, a victim of a road crash, said that those injured in a road crash have to bear the burden for the rest of their lives. But those whose financial condition is not good, the situation is more dire. The state, society needs to take some responsibility for these injured.

Secretary of Bangladesh Orthopedic Society Professor Dr. Jahangir Alam gave a welcome speech. He said that road crashes have become a public health issue in Bangladesh. According to the World Health Organization, about 25,000 people lost their lives and more than 300,000 were disabled in road crashes in Bangladesh in 2016. He said that a strong road safety law needs to be enacted to stop this procession of deaths on the roads.

Members of Bangladesh Orthopedic Society, National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Road Safety Coalition were present in the seminar.