Road crashes claim 274 during Eid rush: RSF

At least 274 people have lost their lives in road accidents across Bangladesh during the first 10 days of Eid travel this year, the Road Safety Foundation reported on Friday. 

Between March 17 and March 26, a total of 342 road accidents were recorded nationwide, surpassing last year's death toll of 249 over an 11-day Eid travel period.

Several major incidents contributed to the high number of casualties. On March 21, at least 12 people were killed in Cumilla when a train collided with a bus at night. Earlier, on March 19, two people died following a collision between two launches at Sadarghat. 

One of the deadliest accidents occurred on March 25, when a passenger bus plunged into the Padma River while attempting to board a ferry at Daulatdia ghat in Rajbari during the post-Eid return journey, killing 26 people.


The current Eid travel period will continue until March 28, after which a comprehensive report detailing the total number of accidents and casualties will be released.

Meanwhile, the government has scheduled a high-level meeting to determine urgent measures aimed at reducing road accidents and improving overall road safety across the country. Organized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, the meeting will be held at 11:00am on Sunday at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the conference room of the Road Transport and Highways Division.

The session will be chaired by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam. State Minister for Road Transport and Highways Division and Railways Ministry Habibur Rashid, along with State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, are also expected to attend.

This initiative follows a high-level meeting on March 24 led by the Prime Minister, which issued key directives to relevant ministries and agencies to curb road accidents, enhance road safety, and improve traffic management, particularly in Dhaka.