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There is only one panic in the minds of the people now- coronavirus! At the beginning of the new year, this disease has become the only cause of anxiety and fear for people all over the world. This is normal because the virus is transmitted to humans very quickly.
The coronavirus has infected 1.2 million people worldwide so far. All over the world, the virus has killed more than 4,000 people. Beginning in late January, it has spread around the world in a month and a half, making it difficult for people around the world to understand the coronavirus.
The origin of coronavirus is in China’s Yuan Province. Since then, the virus has spread to 124 countries around the world. Recently, three cases of corona have been identified in Bangladesh. They have been kept in Quentin.
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This time I will tell you another death story.
The highways of our Bangladesh have also become a place of death. Statistics show that in the first two months of 2020 alone, 1,027 people died in road accidents. 1301 people were injured. An average of 4,000 people dies in road accidents every year. However, the practice of road deaths at the beginning of the year is likely to triple the average number of deaths by the end of this year.
Let’s compare the coronavirus of the whole world and only road accidents in Bangladesh.
The coronavirus case has a fatality rate of 3.4 percent compared to the death rate. This mortality rate is even lower among children, adolescents, young people, or almost middle-aged people. About half of the people infected with the coronavirus have now recovered and returned home, leading a normal life. It is hoped that a large portion of the remaining infected patients will recover and return home soon. And experts and doctors are working day and night to find a cure. Like the Ebola virus, the search corona, the march corona, the cholera virus, and all other infectious diseases, the coronavirus will soon see its end.
On the other hand, the death rate in road accidents in Bangladesh is 40 percent. This means that about half of the victims of road accidents die. In the first two months of this year alone, about 2,500 people were killed and injured in road accidents. Some of those who survived the injury were paralyzed, while others lost their lives for some time. Although Kapal survives, they live with mental problems as well as physical problems for the rest of their lives. Another thing is that the coronary fatality rate is the lowest among infants and young people. On the other hand, as soon as the daily newspaper is opened, the news of the death of a child or a teenager in a road accident.
Doesn’t this comparison of coronavirus versus road accidents make you think that road accidents have become more deadly and severe pandemic in our country than coronavirus?
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Bringing so many statistics to the fore does not mean that there is an attempt to belittle the coronavirus. Coronavirus is definitely a deadly disease. But how much control we had over this sudden onset of the disease. Although the antidote has not been discovered, we now know how to avoid it. Although the pandemic took shape in one or two countries, it was caused by nature!
But look at the other side, a silent pandemic like a road accident is slowly taking the shape of Mahiruha holding our hands. These man-made epidemics also need to be given more importance.
The incarnation of so many statistics just to say this one. Not everyone is infected with the coronavirus, but the current rate of road accidents is alarming. Sometimes his life is crushed on the street. It is with this fear that we take to the streets every day. But look, there is not so much panic in our country about coronavirus at the individual level yet. Because after buying hand sanitizers and masks, everyone has reached a conscious place with Corona. That is, awareness reduces panic.
Now it must be understood why we are still terrified of road accidents! There is a lack of awareness among us on the road and transport sector. From the individual level to the higher level, this lack has turned road accidents into epidemics. Who knows, maybe the driver is wearing a mask for fear of coronavirus, washes his hands well with hand sanitizer, and is driving recklessly on the road, crushing the life of any other person!
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The crisis over the purchase of masks and hand sanitizers in the market has created a crisis due to the panic of coronavirus. On the other hand, unscrupulous traders have increased prices. That is irregularity! Irregularities are also rampant in the transport sector. The road law was tightened after two college students were killed in a road accident in Kurmitola in August 2018. Increased jail fines. Yet why this death procession is not stopping on the road!
We need values and fair use rather than laws or regulations. If the lack of mutual values is eliminated, the habit of practicing irregularities will also disappear. Only if a person works for the good and evil of the people around him can we eradicate the pandemic that we have created ourselves? The driver has to think about the passenger, the pedestrian. You have to drive keeping in mind the speed and traffic laws. Then the death procession on the road will be reduced.
