Biker ‘nuisance’ ends on Padma Bridge, netizens applaud decision
Motocyclist Aminul Islam was the first civilian to cross the newly-inaugurated Padma Bridge from the Mawa End after paying a toll of Tk100.
He was among the thousands of other motorcyclists who had thronged the entrance of the bridge late Saturday night, eagerly awaiting for the gates to be thrown open at 6:00am.
But a few bad apples among the bikers have partly ruined the experience for everyone else, with the biker party coming to a tragic end.
Many bikers would make stops on the bridge to click selfies, flouting all rules, while others completely disregarded the 60 km/h speed limit set by the authorities.
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Among the vehicles that crossed the bridge on the first day, 60 % were motorbikes- reports media outlets citing bridge authorities.
The useless mad races soon turned tragic when two people were killed in a motorcycle accident on the first day of the Padma Bridge opening to traffic.
The accident took place between the 27th and 28th pillars of the bridge on Sunday night.
A video captured by the victims themselves went viral on social media a day after, which showed the rider was moving forward at a speed well above 60 km/h, even reaching 100 km/h occasionally.
The person on the passenger seat encouraged the biker to increase the speed even more while recording a video of their "adventure."
The bike lost control while overtaking a truck and crashed with the pillars after which the video went completely dark.
The victims - Md Alamgir Hossain, 25 and Md Fazlu, 24 - were declared dead after being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The mood around the bridge immediately turned sombre.
Soon after, the bridge division issued a notice banning motorcycles on Padma Bridge from Monday.
This, however, deterred few.
Hundreds of motorbikes thronged Padma Bridge toll plaza Monday morning despite the ban.
Many among them then resorted to other creative measures to circumvent the ban.
Motorcycles were loaded on pickup vans and trucks on Monday morning to make the journey. Several photos and videos of the incident went viral on social media.
The authorities, seemingly outsmarted by the bikers at first, had to react quickly and impose a fresh ban on "motorcycle carrying pick-ups."
Besides, hundreds of motorcyclists blocked the toll plaza of Padma Bridge at the Zajira point on Monday.
They took position near a toll plaza at around 1:50pm, and blocked the road as they were not being allowed to cross the bridge.
The incident caused a traffic jam in that area. At one point, the army had to be called in.
" We have no choice but to close the road as we can't take our bike to Dhaka," one of the agitators told seeking anonymity.
Another biker added," We are not allowed to get on the bridge and even the ferries are not taking us. Where will we go ?"
After 20 minutes, members of the Bangladesh Army managed to remove the motorcycles from the spot.
Since then, Army patrol units have been put to use to maintain law and order on the Padma Bridge.
Troops were seen patrolling the bridge to enforce the ban on motorcycles and pedestrians from travelling over the bridge and taking photos.
Rashedul Amin, assistant director of Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate, told The Business Standard that Bangladesh Army officials are patrolling over the Padma Bridge as per their regular duty.
Motorcyclists around the country have gained a notorious reputation for flouting traffic rules, with many seeing them as to be menaces on the roads.
The decision to ban motorcycles on the bridge was met with celebrations on social media, with many terming it a good move.
A video of a person driving on the bridge with the caption "It's great to see Padma Bridge without bikes" on the popular Facebook page Traffic Alert amassed 2.3k reactions, with the overwhelming majority lending their support to the decision.
Md Shakhwat Hossain Rasel, in a comment, said it was unfair to generalise all bikers as being bad. "If there is a bus accident on the bridge, then I hope the government also bans buses," he added.
