Heavy traffic congestion gripped the capital after metro rail services were suspended following a fatal accident near Farmgate station, where a bearing pad fell from a pillar, killing a pedestrian.
With the metro out of service, thousands of commuters turned to buses and other vehicles, overwhelming city roads and slowing traffic to a crawl.
Severe gridlock was reported in front of the Secretariat and the National Press Club, stretching through Matsya Bhaban, Shahbagh, and Farmgate.
Commuters heading toward Uttara and Mirpur faced severe difficulties.
Many passengers said they were unaware of the suspension. Upon reaching Farmgate station, they found the stairways and entry gates closed, with shutters down. A notice at the station stated that metro rail operations had been temporarily halted due to a technical fault.
As a result, stranded commuters rushed to find alternative transport. However, buses were packed beyond capacity, and traffic near the Press Club barely moved due to the heavy passenger load and unregulated rallies held by multiple groups.
“I regularly travel by metro but didn’t know it was suspended,” said a female commuter heading to Uttara Diabari. “After arriving at Farmgate, I found the gates closed. I took a bus, but even after 20 minutes, I couldn’t cross the Press Club area.”
Another passenger on a Mirpur-bound Shikor Paribahan bus expressed frustration, saying there was no certainty about how long it would take to reach his destination.
The metro service was halted around 12:15pm after a bearing pad fell from a pillar near the Bangladesh Agricultural Institute, adjacent to Farmgate station, killing a pedestrian.
At 2:06pm, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) announced on its official Facebook page that services had been suspended due to a technical glitch, expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
Around 3pm, metro rail services on the Uttara–Agargaon–Uttara section resumed after remaining suspended for nearly two and a half hours. However, operations on the Agargaon–Motijheel–Agargaon section are still halted.