With only a day left before Eid-ul-Azha, homebound travelers are making their way via the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge Highway, as a total of 54,264 vehicles crossed the Jamuna Bridge between Wednesday midnight and 8pm on Thursday, spanning 20 hours.
During this period, a total of Tk3,50,41,550 was collected in tolls.
However, throughout the day, commuters have faced severe suffering on this route.
Even at night, people are returning home amidst heavy traffic congestion.
Passengers and drivers alike have endured hours of gridlock, with women, children and the elderly people are experiencing the most hardship.
The highway police have been actively working to manage the traffic congestion, alongside assistance from the armed forces.
According to police and relevant sources, starting from 4am on Thursday, a 22km traffic jam formed in the northbound lane of the highway stretching from the Jamuna Bridge to the Ashekpur Bypass.
The congestion has yet to be fully resolved, and vehicles remained stranded at several points on the highway for as long as 16 continuous hours until 8pm.
On the other hand, in the absence of adequate public transportation, thousands of people have been taking risky journeys in open trucks, pickups and freight vehicles to celebrate Eid with their families, traveling from Dhaka to Tangail.
As in previous years, travelers are once again facing immense hardship due to the holiday traffic congestion.
Officials have identified several factors contributing to the gridlock, including a sudden surge in vehicle numbers from early morning, multiple instances of vehicle breakdowns on the Jamuna Bridge causing temporary suspension of toll collection, the presence of unfit vehicles on the road, reckless driving, road accidents and frequent vehicle malfunctions at random points along the highway.
Prabir Kumar Ghosh, manager of Toll Operations at the Jamuna Bridge, said that toll collection had to be suspended several times due to vehicle breakdowns and excessive traffic pressure.
A total of nine booths on each side of the bridge were operational to manage the flow of traffic, with an additional two booths designated specifically for motorcycles.
Regarding the situation, Tangail Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman said that police personnel have been working around the clock to resolve the traffic congestion on the highway.
