Commuters in Dhaka were hit with severe traffic congestion on Thursday, the last working day of the week.
Key roads of the city were packed with vehicles and stuck in gridlock from the morning.
VVIP movement is one of the reasons behind the crawling traffic. President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended two separate events in the city early in the day.
Besides, political programs of major political parties were underway, adding to the capital’s traffic woes.
Due to severe traffic jams, people of different professions could not reach their destinations on time due.
According to police, severe traffic congestion spread in the capital’s Kallyanpur, Shyamoli, Asadgate, Farmgate and Karwan Bazar due to a VVIP movement in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the morning.
Later, at around 10am the situation improved a bit in these areas.
However, the situation worsened again after 11am on Mirpur Road and in Mohakhali and Shahbagh.
Commuters on Motijheel to Gulistan via Shahbagh Road also experienced heavy traffic jams.
Besides, vehicles were moving slowly from Gulshan-1 to the Mohakhali railway gate, and intersections were particularly congested.
Traffic jams also emerged on the route from Banani Chairman Bari towards Mohakhali.
Traffic police officers in these areas said they were doing their best to ease the congestion.
The situation extended beyond main roads, affecting Dhaka's narrower streets.
The movement of rickshaws and bikes was also sluggish even as they attempted to avoid traffic jams.
Hatirpul, Paribag and Kalabagan roads were experiencing significant rickshaw and bike gridlocks.
This not only caused inconveniences to vehicle passengers but also pedestrians.
Amid this intolerable situation, many netizens expressed their frustrations on Facebook.
A Facebook user named Farah Khan Eshita wrote in the Traffic Alert group at 2pm: “Mirpur Road is fully packed! Try to avoid it.”
Another Facebook user, Iftesa Aronee, wrote: “What happened to Mirpur Road? Shyamoli, Gabtoli, Technical Road, all packed.”
The situation is expected to worsen after 3pm and into the evening, as many leave Dhaka on the last working day.