Even before many Dhaka residents begin the daunting task of travelling on gridlocked and potholed highways towards their village destinations, they face another Herculean task: making it through the hours of traffic jams that inevitably block the city streets ahead of Eid.
Since Thursday, the city’s exit points as well as roads leading to the bus and launch terminals have been experiencing increased flow of vehicles carrying homebound people who are eager to catch their scheduled transports out of Dhaka.
Sadarghat – the only launch terminal in the capital – saw vehicles standing stationary for hours on a half kilometre radius around the area, prompting many passengers, including women and children, to carry their heavy luggage and walk the rest of the way to the terminal in order to catch their launch on time.
After visiting Sadarghat yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune found that although the terminal stayed relatively quiet until noon, the arrival of passengers picked up the pace in the afternoon. As the day progressed and congestion increased on the connecting roads, the area’s traffic police were forced to turn away Sadarghat-bound buses from the Rayshaheb Bazar intersection to reduce the jam near the terminal.
Bangshal police station Inspector Hassan Mahmud, who was busy controlling traffic at the Islampur intersection, told the Dhaka Tribune that the police had to suspend all vehicular movement a half kilometre away from the terminal in order to keep the streets free and allow people to reach the terminal on time.
However, many bus drivers said it took them two hours to travel from Shahbagh to Sadarghat – a distance of around six kilometres – with the longest tailback being created near Gulistan.
Another focal point of heavy traffic is on the roads of Tantibazar leading to the Babubazar bridge, which is used by buses heading to southern districts. Bus passengers claimed that the area faced constant traffic gridlock because of illegal truck stands and makeshift iftar shops blocking the road.
Transport workers also claimed that it took them over one and a half hours to cross the 2km distance between Gulistan and the Babubazar bridge; while it took only half an hour to travel the next 45km distance from the bridge to Mawa.
The Dhaka Tribune also found similar traffic congestion near Gabtoli bus stand yesterday, where the traffic rush began in the afternoon as many city residents preferred to make evening trips after completing their remaining daytime tasks before leaving the city. The traffic situation in the area worsened as trucks from the nearby cattle market used the Gabtoli road to get to the Aminbazar bridge, while local buses also made U-turns there to return to the capital.
Another city exit point in Jatrabari – the only route for buses bound for southeastern districts – has also been facing increased pressure since Thursday. Although the new flyover has created an additional option for vehicles to choose, the road below it has been narrowed because of the flyover’s pillars, causing buses travelling on that road to face more traffic jams.
While numerous bus counters along city roads add to the traffic gridlock, buses also stop indiscriminately in the middle of the roads to pick up passengers. Illegal roadside markets and makeshift fruit-stalls are creating further traffic jams.
Similar situations were also reported from other exit points of the capital, including Postagola bridge and Abdullahpur intersection. There are allegations that traffic congestions were being created at these points because of traffic mismanagement and buses being allowed to pick up passengers in the middle of the road, irrespective of any bus stop.
However, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, the joint commissioner (traffic) of the DMP, denied such allegations and told the Dhaka Tribune that all officials had been instructed to be more focused on maintaining traffic at the exit points to prevent congestion.
Apart from regular traffic police personnel, monitoring teams formed in coordination with transport associations were also checking the problem, he added.
When asked about the traffic crisis near the city exit points, Khan Mohammad Rezowan, deputy commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, also said the police were doing their best to ease traffic jams and make people’s journeys easier.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the Dhaka Tribune all necessary steps have been taken to ensure that people can reach their homes safely without any trouble.
Additional law enforcers have been deployed in every sensitive point, he said, adding that police patrolling was also increased to ensure maximum security.