Even after six years in operation, the highway police have failed to check road accidents and discipline traffic on highways across the country. The government in 2005 launched the police unit to ensure a safer highway network and a smooth traffic management system.
Highway police officials, however, put the blame on the shortage of manpower and other logistics needed to ensure a better traffic management and curb road accidents on some 11,000 roads across the country.
Passengers and victims of traffic accidents said drivers of buses, trucks and cars were constantly involved in mindless and wild races without the slightest respect for human lives as highway police did not take action against the offenders.
Statistics of highway police shows that every year nearly 4,000 people die in around 20,000 traffic accidents across the country.
Damages worth crores of taka are incurred due mainly to fatal traffic accidents. In addition, a quarter of a million people sustain minor to grave injuries in the accidents, adding to the increasing number of people without limbs.
Abdul Hamid, a transport union leader at Gabtoli, said that the highway police remained almost inactive on the highways throughout the year.
‘They [highway police] often stop buses and cars on different spots to extract money in the name of checking documents,’ he alleged.
He said that there was no single instance of fining a driver for reckless driving.
Another transport worker said that relations between the highway police and transport workers were based on massive irregularities in the road transport sector.
‘The highway police are seen when accident takes place. I have never seen police stop a bus or truck for overloading or breaking speed limits,’ said Raju Ahmed, a transport worker.
Equipped with only 76 vehicles, 151 motorbikes and 34 speed detectors, the highway police monitor traffic on the 11,806-kilometre highway network, sources in the highway police said.
The 2,042-strong highway force – manning 24 stations and 48 outposts – takes some actions when there were accidents, the sources said.
Passengers and transport workers said that although the highway police were rarely seen monitoring traffic on highways, ‘they suddenly appear and become very active when a VIP passes by the road.’
Besides, there are frequent allegations against the highway police for taking bribes in the name of checking documents, said Rustom Ali, president of Bangladesh Truck Owners’ Association.
Deputy inspector general (highway police) Humayun Kabir told New Age that it was impossible for 2,042 police personnel to discipline traffic on more than 11,000 kilometres of highways.
Humayun Kabir said the highway police were mainly launched to curb accidents on the roads.
The highway police in its eastern and western zones have only eight serving officers, which is ‘grossly inadequate’ for maintaining safety on the highways because officers are required to prosecute an offender, said Kabir.
‘In the eastern zone comprising 29 districts, we have only four officers and the situation is almost the same in the western zone covering 35 districts,’ the DIG added.
He said that they have only one outpost in the entire division of Barisal led by a sub-inspector.
A highway police official admitted not using speed detectors to check rash driving fearing strike by transport operators and workers.
He said that transport union leaders had threatened to go on strike if vehicles were interrupted by using speed detectors.
According to police, a total of 36 highway robberies took place in November across the country but the highway police so far could not make any arrests.
-With New Age input
