Due to the additional government holiday for Durga Puja, combined with the regular weekend, government employees now have the opportunity to enjoy a continuous four-day break.
As a result, many city dwellers are rushing to leave Dhaka to celebrate Puja in their hometowns and make the most of the long vacation.
This has caused a surge in traffic across various roads in the capital from Thursday morning.
In some areas, severe traffic congestion has formed, especially at the entry and exit points of Dhaka.
As a result, a significant portion of people’s first day of the holiday is being spent stuck on the roads.
Severe traffic jams have been reported from the airport area, Khilkhet, Kuril Flyover, Badda, Rampura, Jatrabari, Sayedabad, Gulistan, Gabtoli, Mirpur, Mohakhali, and all other entry and exit points of Dhaka since morning.
Israfi Hossain, a private jobholder, boarded a bus from Gulistan heading to Khulna around 10am. By 2pm, he told Dhaka Tribune that he had reached the Dholairpar area, meaning it took him four hours to cover this distance.
On the other hand, Saleha Amzad, a passenger coming to Dhaka from Khulna, mentioned that her bus left at 6am and reached Postogola Bridge by 10am. However, it was stuck in severe traffic afterward.
At the time of writing this report at 2pm, she was still on Hanif Flyover.
Additionally, a protest by garment workers demanding unpaid wages worsened the traffic situation in the airport-Kuril area during midday.
A student named Israt Naznin reported that after boarding a bus at noon from the airport area, she had only reached Khilkhet by 2pm.
Along with passengers, bus drivers and their assistants are also facing severe hardships due to this widespread traffic congestion in the capital.
Since buses from outside Dhaka are unable to reach on time, many departures from Dhaka are being delayed, leaving people waiting at bus stops for up to 4-5 hours.