– Message of DNCC Administrator Mohammad Azaz
Dear citizens of Dhaka North, Assalamu Alaikum.
I extend my warmest greetings to you all on the occasion of the 8th Global Road Safety Week, declared by the United Nations, from 12 to 18 May 2025. This Road Safety Week is observed every two years with the aim of ensuring road safety worldwide and reducing premature deaths on the roads.
This time, the theme of the week—Roads for Life: Making Walking and Cycling Safe—is very relevant to us. In Dhaka, one of the most populous cities in the world, traffic congestion is a serious problem during the day. A study shows that about 8.2 million working hours are lost daily due to this congestion. In this case, walking and cycling can be a good solution for traveling short distances in Dhaka. This requires pedestrian and bicycle-friendly safe road infrastructure, which is insufficient in our city. On the other hand, excessive speed in the early morning and at night or on holidays make the roads unsafe. Due to speed, pedestrians and cyclists are at risk of crossing the roads. Therefore, I request all drivers to drive within the speed limit on the roads as per the speed set by government through the speed-limit control guidelines. For city roads, it is 30 km/h for most of the roads.
You will be happy to know that Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has taken various initiatives for road safety in partnership with the global initiative under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) program. As part of this initiative, DNCC is identifying risky roads and intersections in coordination with Dhaka Metropolitan Police – DMP and international organization Vital Strategies. It has jointly published a research report titled ‘Road Safety Situation in Dhaka North’ with DMP in April 2025, found that 123 people lost their lives while traveling on the roads under DNCC area in 2023, of which 61 percent were pedestrians, which is very shocking for us.
DNCC, under its jurisdiction, has started work to make the sidewalks and roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. With the technical support from the Word Resources Institute (WRI), the Mohammadpur Bus Stand intersection has already been renovated and made pedestrian friendly. Gradually, other intersections, road crossings and sidewalks will be made safe for pedestrians in the coming days.
In addition, we urge drivers to drive vehicles on the roads by following the traffic rules and regulations including speed limits on the roads. Please follow the speed limit on the road, keep the city’s roads safer. We also urge city residents and pedestrians to cross the streets consciously and carefully. Remember, it is possible to reduce the risk to a great extent if everyone crosses the road at specific places instead of crossing it randomly.
Finally, I would like to mention that premature death on the road is not only an obstacle to the development of an individual, but also a family, society, and the state at large. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure safe roads for the purpose of sustainable development.
Let us pledge together to make the roads of Dhaka safe.