Bangladesh bans rooftop travel
Bangladesh has banned travel on the roofs of trains, a dangerous practice all too common in the impoverished South Asian country, according to a local prosecutor.
Railway employees have been ordered to enforce the comprehensive rooftop travel ban of the High Court of Bangladesh.
"Following the Supreme Court's decision, trains cannot carry any additional passengers on the surface from now on," Deputy Prosecutor General Aminuddin Manik told AFP, noting that action could be taken against railway officials if the decision was violated.
The two Supreme Court judges, Islam Talukdar and Khizer Hayat, issued the order as part of a drive to stamp out corruption at the state-owned Bangladesh Railways.
In Bangladesh, the poorest people are used to climbing on the roofs of wagons to travel for free or when the trains are crowded, especially during major holidays when tens of millions of people return to celebrate in their villages.
Passenger deaths are constantly recorded as a result of falling or colliding with overhanging tree branches or low bridges on the 3,600-kilometre railway network.
Railroad employees accept bribes to disregard passengers' climbing to rooftops.
Judge Talukder stressed that the trains are a public service and not a way to earn extra money.
"Who travels on the roof or standing up...would he not pay?"
It is a form of corruption.”
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