Bangladesh News

The capital yesterday experienced a daylong traffic jam stretching from almost its one end to the other and creating chaos on all the major thoroughfares as commuters suffered badly on the third day of the Traffic Month.

Thousands of vehicles got stuck in gridlock for hours on the streets from Jatrabari to Banani with lakhs of commuters having to wait not knowing when it would end.

“I am totally helpless,” said a traffic sergeant at Karwan Bazar roundabout where vehicles stood still in all directions. “You go wherever and however you want,” he shrugged to this correspondent expressing his helplessness.

Narrating his plight, a commuter said, “It took me more than an hour to come from one road to another hardly a kilometre away at Dhanmondi.”

Experts blamed this situation to 20 years of mismanagement in Bangladesh Road and Transport Authorities (BRTA) and traffic department, government’s faulty policy on car import and Rajuk’s failure to build new roads.

On yesterday’s jam, police however said apart from the usual reasons, demonstrators blocked different points on some streets worsening the situation.

Admitting experts’ views on traffic jam, Monjurul Kader, joint commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Daily Star that several groups demonstrated on the city streets yesterday, adding to the traffic chaos.

Besides, lack of foot over-bridge and repair work on some roads are responsible for the huge traffic, he said.

Long traffic queues on the roads and hundreds of city service buses, private cars, covered lorries, three wheelers and taxicabs haphazardly inching forward were the common scenarios across the city.

Traffic policemen at times tried their best to prevent pedestrians from swarming the main roads and to control the traffic system but they gave up their efforts, looking helpless.

The atmosphere became too unhygienic as hundreds of stranded vehicles emitted fumes and impatient honks of vehicles came from all sides.

Many of the frustrated bus drivers tried to make U-turns to move to other directions while passengers got off the vehicles and started walking.

Even ambulances could not make their way and got trapped in the long jam.

A group of madrasa students yesterday took to Maghbazar road at about noon and demonstrated in a bid to submit a memorandum to the speaker. Then they went to Bangla Motor crossing, which obstructed traffic movement for some time, said the DMP joint commissioner.

Police later took their representatives to submit the memorandum, and made them move away.

Besides, garment workers demonstrated on Rokeya Sarani at about 1:00pm and sat on the road for half an hour blocking traffic.

Members of Crime Reporters Association, Bangladesh (CRAB) demonstrated in front of the Jatiya Press Club protesting police assault on three CRAB members on Sunday.

In addition to these, repair of the roads from Bangla Motor to Sonargaon crossing and Satrasta to Mohakhali led to yesterday’s traffic disorder, the DMP official said.

He also blamed the increasing number of high-rise buildings in the city for obstructing vehicular movement. The buildings go upward, but more and more vehicles come to those for business and other purposes, he explained.

Many rural labourers come to the city this season to pull rickshaws to make some extra earning, and this also a reason for increased traffic jam, said another traffic official of the DMP.