Why illegal rail crossings will not be shut down: High Court
The ruling came in response to a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Syeda Shahin Ara Laili on November 24
The High Court bench today issued a ruling, asking the authorities concerned why they should not be directed to close down all illegal rail crossings across the country, identify the legal crossings and set up fences around them.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman asked all parties concerned – the cabinet secretary, railways secretary, secretary for local government division and the roads division, director general of Bangladesh Railway and the inspector general of police – to report on the progress within three months.
The ruling came in response to a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Syeda Shahin Ara Laili on November 24. Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan appeared for the petition while Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukdar stood for the state.
The respondents have been asked to reply to the ruling within four weeks, said Ekhlas Uddin.
He said there are 1,412 level crossings in the country. According to the Accident Research Institute of Buet, 244 people were killed in 235 railway accidents in 2018 while 229 people were killed and 155 were injured in 2017.
