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Actor and road safety activist Eliyas Kanchan, who has been campaigning for safer roads for more than three decades, has urged everyone to continue the movement even in his absence.
He made the call at a mass rally organised by Nirapad Sarak Chai at the National Theatre Hall in Dhaka on Friday.
Kanchan, founder of Nirapad Sarak Chai, said, “Thirty-one years ago, I turned the deep grief and pain of a personal tragedy into the strength to launch the road safety movement.
“After this long journey, the movement is no longer the cause of any individual or organisation; it has become a movement of people across the country.”
Kanchan launched the road safety campaign after his wife, Jahanara Kanchan, was killed in a road accident on October 22, 1993. The day is now observed as National Road Safety Day.
Speaking about his health condition, Kanchan said, “I pray to Allah to restore my health and give me the strength to join the movement again with all of you. I wish safety, peace and prosperity for the people of the country.
“I urge the government, administration, transport owners and workers, and every conscious citizen to become part of this movement.”
Addressing the people of Bangladesh, he said, “We are not each other’s opponents. We are all partners in protecting human lives.
“I am leaving my dream in your hands. Even if I am no longer here, I hope you will continue working to ensure safer roads.”
Culture Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury said at the event that the campaign was not a personal demand but a movement for people’s rights.
“However, as the current government, our goal is to build a state where people will not have to take to the streets to demand their basic rights,” he said.
He said the government wanted to build a united Bangladesh regardless of race, religion or ethnicity and create an inclusive society where everyone would enjoy their legitimate rights.
Addressing members of Nirapad Sarak Chai, the minister said their campaign was an important social movement aimed at saving lives, not merely serving their own interests.
He said the government had started working from the grassroots level on various issues and was formulating plans to address them, expressing hope that the state would ensure all constitutional rights of citizens.
Road Transport and Communications State Minister Habibur Rashid Habib was also present at the event, among others.