‘Reopen public transport following health guidelines’
The organization placed an 11-point recommendations for reopening transports
Jatri Adhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad, a passenger rights organization, on Monday called for reopening public transports on a limited scale in compliance with the health guidelines.
Besides, the organization placed an 11-point recommendations for reopening transports, said a press release signed by the Parishad General Secretary Shamsuddin Chowdhury.
The recommendations are: infrared thermometer should be kept in station to check temperature of the passengers coming to bus and train stations; places of passengers movement should be kept cleaned and disinfected; bus and rail stations should ensure arrangements for hand wash and keep hand sanitizer; places for waiting, bus compartment and other places should be kept clean; passengers should be aware of using masks and gloves; seat covers should be cleaned, rinsed and disinfected every day; passengers should be advised to buy online tickets and keep distance while riding on or off of a transport; ensuring use of mask, gloves and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of the drivers, helpers and others concerned; awareness programmes should be telecasted on newspaper, TV, social media, audio, video and posters to make the passengers aware; making arrangements of passengers to sit separately by decreasing the seat arrangements in transports logically; and ferries, naval terminals and naval transports have to be kept disinfected.
The shutdown, which started on March 26 and has been extended to May 16, has been maintained strictly but recently it has broken down. Day labourers and workers have come out to streets and garments have been reopened, it says.
Garment workers and other passengers are using vehicles for carrying goods so public transports should also be reopened in a limited range.
"Livelihood is as important as lives. To combine the two, there is no option other than reopening transports," said Shamsuddin Chowdhury.
"Following the health guidelines, twenty passengers will sit in a 40-seat vehicle keeping gap of one seat and will use hand sanitizer before riding. Spraying the vehicles with disinfectant would save the passengers," he added.
He further remarked that this would also pave the way for livelihood of 70 lakh transport workers.