Dhaka to bring major changes in traffic mgt

JICA will pay funding

Mahfuz Emran: The capital Dhaka is the most populous and busiest city in the country. Traffic management in this city is more complicated than many other places. Traffic jams and traffic mismanagement of the streets of Dhaka. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) wants to bring a big change in this situation. They are focusing on three things to make traffic management better. Safety education, traffic accident report analysis and traffic enforcement are being implemented. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is giving them financial support in this work.
According to related sources, the duration of the project has already passed one year. At first, its activities were coming to Ramana Division as a pilot project. But now 8 traffic departments of DMP are starting to work on this project in their respective areas. This activity is being carried out under the ‘Dhaka Road Traffic Safety Project (DRSP)’ in coordination with DMP-Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
DRSP is a technical cooperation project for three years. Its aim is to strengthen the capacity of DMP to implement traffic safety measures in Dhaka city. This project of traffic congestion relief has started from 2022. In the meantime, several joint committee meetings have been held. Various activities are being conducted to collect information and create public awareness on various issues including the causes of accidents.
JICA is bearing the entire cost of the project. Any money spent on running various activities is being paid directly by JICA. Recently 15 members of traffic police traveled to Japan to gain knowledge about traffic management and traffic in that country. Besides JICA, Bangladesh government funding for this project is under review.
Officials of the traffic department of DMP are claiming that this project of JICA will play an effective role in traffic management and congestion relief in the capital. They say that the existing traffic management of DMP will be further modernized. DMP is working under this project to improve traffic management including public movement, proper management of public transport, awareness of traffic laws among people.
3-types work underway
The traffic department of DMP is working on three issues under the project. The first is safety education. Where various types of awareness programs are being implemented from school level to secondary level and colleges and universities about traffic laws. If traffic management issues can be inculcated in the minds of young children from the primary level, the correct knowledge of traffic management and the tendency to follow the law will increase in them in the future. Adherence to traffic laws reduces accidents, casualties are also being discussed.
In the second phase, work is underway to ensure that there is no statistical variation in accidents in the case of traffic accident report analysis. Importance is being given to the fact that the information of the police crime department, police stations and the traffic department should not be confused. The related software is being developed in such a way that members of police station and traffic police will get access. By doing this, if any incident happens somewhere, then there will be no confusion between police and traffic police information. Otherwise, if any statistical data is presented – it is embarrassing due to the average of the data.
In the third phase, the goal of implementing traffic enforcement is meant to be the awareness of everyone in traffic along with traffic management on the road. Where there are footover bridges, their use is recommended. If an attempt is made to cross the road by hand signals instead of using foot overbridges, what kind of laws will be enforced – these issues are under review. In addition, zebra crossings, various traffic signals and road signs-which are an integral part of traffic management-are explained.
DMP traffic department sources say that work is going on to identify the accident-prone areas in the area under the jurisdiction of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Information is being collected about which areas are having more accidents, what are the reasons for the accidents. As fast vehicles are plying in Dhaka metropolitan area, slow rickshaws are also plying on the same road. Besides, picking up and dropping passengers in public transport, even stopping the moving vehicle in the middle of the road without looking back at the passenger’s signal is becoming a cause of danger. DMP advises not only passengers or pedestrians to be aware, but also transport-related drivers and helpers, car owners to follow traffic management.
What officials saying?
Referring to the challenging issue of traffic management in the capital, an official of the traffic department told that whenever someone breaks the law, he does not feel any remorse. He resorted to known government officials or senior police officers to assert his authority. Which creates an embarrassing situation for the traffic policemen in the field. There is a lot of fear among the officers in the field. Still, the traffic police members are working with their best efforts to maintain the capital’s traffic management and reduce traffic congestion.
He also said, at the same time, legal action is being taken if the vehicle is found with an expired or unregistered vehicle. Although dumping those cars is not possible. Because the dumping sites in the capital are already full. Even after filing the case, those vehicles continue to roam the capital, often causing accidents.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police from the point of view of traffic management, mentioning a challenging place, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Munibur Rahman told, ‘People who use the road regularly – pedestrians, passengers, riders of different transport, drivers, helpers are all stakeholders in traffic management. holder. Various activities are being conducted to create traffic awareness among everyone and highlight the issue of minimum knowledge of traffic management. Various issues of traffic management are being highlighted in various schools, colleges and universities through safety education. If traffic management and law issues are inculcated in students from childhood, they can be aware of this. This program has been started from the school level so that minimum awareness is created in everyone.
He also said, “If those who travel on the road know the basics of traffic rules, then they will be aware of their own safety.” There are two types of traffic works on roads. One is the case of fatal accident. A case was filed in the police station about them. It falls under the penal profession. And some cases under the ‘Road Transport Act 2018’, which are done only by the traffic department. The crime department of the police deals with one type of case, while the traffic department deals with another type of case. When dealing with separate events, data are averaged. That is why we are trying to make our software in such a way, we are trying to provide some links, so that there is no confusion of information. Information should be the same for everyone. We want the information that comes to the police station, that information will also come to the traffic police and the data will be in the same place. This will eliminate informational confusion.