Travel travails along the Dhaka-Sylhet highway has gone up manifold on Dhaka-Sylhet highway as unauthorised kitchen markets go on encroaching on the highway leading to a traffic jam on its about-27-kilometre stretch in Narsinghdi.
The points of the highway where unauthorised kitchen markets sit are in Narayanpur, Bareicha, Morjal, Jongi Shibpur, Kamartek, Chitainya, Sristigarh and Kondarpara bus stand. Each kitchen market sit on two days a week on average.
Fruits markets sit at Morjal, Kamartek, Itakhola and Chaitainya points of the highway. These markets also encroach on one side of the highway, sitting each almost two days a week.
Khairul Islam, a trader from Kishoreganj Sadar upazila and commutes along the highway, said: “Traffic jam has increased to a great extent on the highway because more and more people are now returning home.”
Another commuter Alamgir from Bhairab upazila in Kishoreganj said: “I have been witnessing such traffic jam on the highway from 12 years. This jam increases during Eid every year.”
He said: “However, police have become active to avoid the travel woes for drivers, passengers and commuters here but it is hardly working because of the rise in number of vehicles they can handle are plying along the highway now.”
Visiting Bareicha kitchen market at Belabo upazila on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, our correspondent found vegetable traders selling their produce on one side of the highway, narrowing it down extremely.
The correspondent also saw vegetable-laden vans and rickshaws parked on one side of the highway, leaving little space for the buses, trucks and others vehicles to move along it smoothly.
He also did not find any law enforcer deployed to regulate traffic movement or no initiative has yet been apparently taken to prevent these markets encroaching the highway
Hazrat Ali, a farmer who came to sell his produce at Bareicha market, said: Who wants to sell vegetables standing on the highway? To do this means taking a risk on one’s life. But there is no way but doing this due to space crisis.”
He demanded the government do something so that they do not have to stand on the highway to sell their produce.
Shafiqul Islam, a farmer who came to sell his yield at Jongi Shibpur kitchen market, said: “There is no room left for vegetable traders in the maket and so we have to sell our output standing on the highway here.”
Selim Mia, a Hanif Paribahan bus driver, said: “We face difficulty moving our buses in Narsinghdi after wading through Dhaka’s intolerable traffic jam. Here vegetables are sold blocking one side of the highway.”
Bareicha market managing committee president and Char Ujilab Union Parishad chairman Rafiqul Islam said, “Space crisis is the prime reason for the kitchen markets to encroach on the highway.”
“This problem needs to be resolved soon. However, we are trying to reduce the traffic jam with the help of the administration as much as we can.”
Additional Deputy Commissioner (general) Suraiya Begum said: “We have decided to keep the law enforcers on the highway from three days ahead of Eid with a view to tide over the traffic jam.”
Legal action will be taken wherever any kitchen market sits in the district, she said.
The additional deputy commissioner was asked whether any initiative had been taken to resolve this situation permanently, she said: Talks are on with the Roads and Highways Department about this.”
