Photo: Collected
Minister of State for Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin was the chief guest at an event held on Wednesday in the conference room of Chattogram Circuit House to mark National Road Safety Day 2026. There he stressed boosting coordinated social awareness alongside tough legal action to prevent road accidents. Chattogram district administration and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Chattogram jointly organised the event.
According to the state minister, keeping the roads safe is not the job of any one agency alone. Only through a collective social effort can a deadly problem like road accidents be prevented.
Highlighting the importance and significance of the day, he said precious lives are being lost on the roads every day, causing losses of life and property that can never be made good. The state minister urged all stakeholders to give top priority to finding remedies to get out of this humanitarian and social disaster.
He described leaving vehicles scattered haphazardly on highways and obstructing traffic as a serious offence, and directed the authorities concerned to take immediate legal action against those involved. He warned that no irregularity or undue lobbying would be tolerated in either the issuing of driving licences or vehicle fitness certificates.
The state minister made it clear that only driving licences lawfully certified by the BRTA would be acceptable for driving on the country’s roads.
Noting that criminals are using unregistered CNG-run autorickshaws and ‘chander gari’ (jeeps) to carry out various anti-social and violent activities, he directed officials to be especially vigilant on the matter. He also urged drivers and owners to act responsibly so that no criminal gang can turn CNG autorickshaws into vehicles of crime.
Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia presided over the meeting. Also present were Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Dr Md Ziauddin, Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic) Hossain Mohammad Kabir Bhuiyan, Chattogram Range Additional DIG Md Nazimul Haque, Additional Chief Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) Chattogram Mohammad Abdul Halim and Chattogram Superintendent of Police Md Masud Alam, along with senior officials of various government offices.
By the numbers
According to the Road Safety Foundation, 423 people were killed and 674 injured in 442 road accidents across the country in September 2026, Prothom Alo reported on 4 October 2026.
In the same month, 88 passengers of three-wheelers, including CNG-run vehicles, autorickshaws, easybikes and leguna, were killed, the highest by vehicle type, Dhaka Times reported on 4 October 2026, citing the Road Safety Foundation report.
BRTA data show 5,490 people were killed in road accidents in 2025, while a World Health Organization estimate says about 31,578 people lose their lives on the roads in Bangladesh every year, Dhaka Times reported on 22 October 2026, presenting both figures.
District angle
The Road Safety Foundation’s September 2026 report shows 17.87 percent of accidents and 17.73 percent of deaths occurred in Chattogram division, the second highest after Dhaka division, Dhaka Times reported on 4 October 2026.
At a glance
According to a Dhaka Times report of 22 October 2026, the theme of this year’s National Road Safety Day was ‘Safe roads, prosperous country – Bangladesh before all’.
Sources
Background sources: Prothom Alo, 4 October 2026; Dhaka Times, 4 October 2026; Dhaka Times, 22 October 2026
