File photo of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation Executive President Shajahan Khan CollectedThe two committees will have to submit their reports within 14 working daysOn Sunday afternoon, Minister of Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader announced that controversial former naval transport minister and Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation Executive President Shajahan Khan will chair a 15-member parliamentary committee to control road accidents. Obaidul also said a second committee was also formed comprising Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujon, and Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Huq to draft a road transport law. The two committees will have to submit their reports within 14 working days. MP Shajahan Khan was a divided figure during his tenure as a minister due to his dual role as a transport workers’ leader and a minister, which was frequently cited as a conflict of interest whenever transport reforms were discussed. In August 2018, after two schoolchildren were run over by a bus on the Airport Road, several reporters asked the former minister about the lax regulations for bus drivers being a huge factor for road accidents, which the minister appeared to laugh off.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 17, 2019 11:26 UTC