Severe Traffic Jam Paralyses Dhaka Again, Commuters Suffer on First Working Day

shaplanews.com

Dhaka, 15 November

On the first working day of the week, Sunday, the capital Dhaka was again paralysed by severe traffic jam. From 8 am, pressure from office-goers, school-college students and business people caused severe traffic jams on the main roads. Vehicles were stuck for hours in Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Mirpur Road, Moghbazar, Malibagh, Gulistan, Jatrabari and Mohakhali areas. Many passengers got down from buses and started walking to their destinations.

Passengers complained that it took one and a half to two hours to come from Mirpur to Farmgate, which should take 30 minutes. It took more than one hour to come from Jatrabari to Gulistan. School-going children and hospital-going patients suffered the most. Relatives of many patients expressed concern as even ambulances were stuck in the jam.

Traffic police say, Sunday always has more pressure. On top of that, there is still the effect of yesterday Saturday's incident. Yesterday, transport workers blocked the road in the Mohakhali bus terminal area protesting bus dumping. This created severe traffic jam in Mohakhali and surrounding roads. On the same day, the Dhaka-Tangail highway was blocked in Kaliakair, Gazipur, disrupting long-distance bus movement towards Dhaka. After one and a half hours, police fired tear shells and sound grenades to remove the blockaders and traffic on the highway became normal. But due to this, pressure of vehicles entering Dhaka increased, the effect of which was felt this morning as well.

Experts say, there is not one single reason for Dhaka's traffic jam. Too many vehicles compared to roads, illegal parking, footpath occupation, road digging and not following signals — all together cause this suffering every day. The Traffic Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said additional police have been deployed at important intersections today to reduce traffic jam. Operations are going on against illegal parking and wrong-way driving.

Meanwhile, there is fear that traffic jam will increase again in the evening when offices close. The Traffic Division advises, if there is no emergency work, avoid Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh and Mirpur Road from 5 pm to 8 pm. If possible, use the metro rail, it will save a lot of time.

The question of Dhaka residents is one — how many more days will we have to suffer this traffic jam?