Photo: Collected
Cumilla-6 lawmaker Monirul Haque Chowdhury has demanded that compensation for the families of those killed in road accidents be arranged by transport owners as well, alongside the government.
He said countless people are losing their lives in road accidents every day, yet the compensation given against this is very meagre. The value of a human life cannot be only Tk 5 lakh.
He said this in his speech as the chief guest at a ceremony for distributing cheques worth Tk 1.21 crore among the relatives of those killed and injured in road accidents, held on Thursday in the conference room of the Cumilla deputy commissioner at the initiative of the trustee board of Cumilla BRTA.
Monirul Haque Chowdhury said the loss of life or limb in a road accident cannot be made up for with any amount of money. The government is trying to stand by the affected families and give some financial relief in hard times; however, transport owners should also arrange to pay compensation to the families of those killed.
He said work is being done together with all the agencies concerned, including the BRTA, to restore discipline on the roads and bring accidents down to zero.
The BRTA said 21 people were killed and six injured in road accidents at different times in Cumilla district. In response to applications from 27 families, cheques totalling Tk 1.21 crore were distributed among them.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Ali Rajib Mahmud Mithun presided over the event. Cumilla BRTA assistant directors Md Faruk Alam and Abdullah Al Mamun, assistant revenue officer Liton Kumar Dey, motor vehicle inspector Md Tajul Islam and other BRTA officials were present.
Azad Sarker Liton, president of the organisation Nirapad Chalak Chai, transport owners’ representative Abdus Salam, workers’ representative Khandaker Kamrul Hasan Tipu and journalist Mahfuz Nantu also spoke at the event. At the end, MP Monirul Haque Chowdhury handed over the financial assistance cheques to the family members of those killed and injured.
