In the Eliotgonj area of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, drivers on Friday morning parked their vehicles on the road amid dense fog and fell asleep, causing a traffic jam as vehicles behind them were unable to move.
Eventually, the drivers of the vehicles stuck behind also fell asleep, leading to a kilometres-long traffic jam.
Police arrived later in the morning to wake the drivers up and started working to clear the jam.
According to local residents and drivers, dense fog began to settle around 3am, prompting long-distance vehicles heading towards Dhaka to park on the roadside.
The drivers inside these vehicles fell asleep, gradually causing slow movement in parts of the highway.
Eventually, vehicles further back also came to a stop as their drivers fell asleep, resulting in a full-fledged traffic jam.
The jam extended from Eliotgonj Bazar to the Dhaka-bound lane, crossing Gomta and reaching as far as Kutumbpur, about five kilometres away.
Eliotgonj highway police outpost’s Dewan Kawsik said the traffic jam started around 3am because drivers parked their vehicles and fell asleep on the road.
“We arrived at the scene and woke them up. Some drivers had to be awakened by shouting,” he added.
Traffic is now running, though there is still some congestion, the officer said. “We are working to clear it completely and expect it to be resolved soon."
