Traffic gridlocks dampen Eid spirit

Travellers suffer most on Dhaka-Tangail highway

The traffic gridlocks on the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Chittagong highways continue to hold up Eid holidaymakers on their way home. The heavy rush and the dilapidated roads have made a perfect cocktail to throw the festive plans out of gear. Even the repairs are agonisingly slow, complained drivers and passengers. Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader has cancelled all leave of department officials, and directed the engineers to repair the roads within 24 hours. However, insiders said it would be difficult to repair the roads completely before Eid.

A huge traffic jam from Chandra to Sutrapur on the Dhaka-Tangail highway slowed down traffic movement yesterday. On the other hand, there was a long tailback from Meghna-Gumti Setu area to Daudkandi Biswa Road on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway since morning. The Dhaka-Tangail highway jam started on Saturday night itself due to the heavy rain. The traffic snarl stretched along 35km, from Mirzapur to Tangail. The gridlock started easing only in the morning.

The deputy inspector of the Mirzapur-Gorai Highway, Golam Kibria, said the traffic gridlock was triggered by the rain and cattle-loaded vehicles. The police are trying to ease the situation, he added. Passengers and drivers claimed it was taking eight to 10 hours to reach Tangail from Dhaka though it normally takes only one-and-a-half hours. Vehicular movement has become risky, as the rain has left huge craters on the highways. Almost 70km of the road from Kaliakoir to Bangabandhu Bridge are riddled with craters and potholes. Apart from the delay in repairs and the slow work, the lack of monitoring of the project to upgrade the Dhaka-Tangail highway to a four-lane one is also to blame for the jam. Besides, the vehicles are making things worse in their competition to overtake each other. The officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirzapur police station, Mainuddin, said the main reason behind the traffic snarl is the dilapidated road from Chandra to Bangabandhu Bridge. There is no coordination between the two companies that are working to upgrade the highway to four lanes, he alleged.

At a meeting held to exchange views with the executive engineers of the Roads and Highways Division (Khulna zone) at the Jessore Circuit House yesterday, Obaidul Quader directed them to repair the roads within 24 hours. Quader directed them to do the repairs at night so that vehicular movement is not hampered much. The engineers demanded security at night, which the minister granted. On Friday, Quader cancelled the Roads and Highway Division engineers’ Eid holidays to ensure the maintenance of the roads damaged by the recent floods.

Traffic gridlocks dampen Eid spirit

Travellers suffer most on Dhaka-Tangail highway

The traffic gridlocks on the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Chittagong highways continue to hold up Eid holidaymakers on their way home. The heavy rush and the dilapidated roads have made a perfect cocktail to throw the festive plans out of gear. Even the repairs are agonisingly slow, complained drivers and passengers. Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader has cancelled all leave of department officials, and directed the engineers to repair the roads within 24 hours. However, insiders said it would be difficult to repair the roads completely before Eid. A huge traffic jam from Chandra to Sutrapur on the Dhaka-Tangail highway slowed down traffic movement yesterday. On the other hand, there was a long tailback from Meghna-Gumti Setu area to Daudkandi Biswa Road on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway since morning. The Dhaka-Tangail highway jam started on Saturday night itself due to the heavy rain. The traffic snarl stretched along 35km, from Mirzapur to Tangail. The gridlock started easing only in the morning. The deputy inspector of the Mirzapur-Gorai Highway, Golam Kibria, said the traffic gridlock was triggered by the rain and cattle-loaded vehicles. The police are trying to ease the situation, he added. Passengers and drivers claimed it was taking eight to 10 hours to reach Tangail from Dhaka though it normally takes only one-and-a-half hours. Vehicular movement has become risky, as the rain has left huge craters on the highways. Almost 70km of the road from Kaliakoir to Bangabandhu Bridge are riddled with craters and potholes. Apart from the delay in repairs and the slow work, the lack of monitoring of the project to upgrade the Dhaka-Tangail highway to a four-lane one is also to blame for the jam. Besides, the vehicles are making things worse in their competition to overtake each other. The officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirzapur police station, Mainuddin, said the main reason behind the traffic snarl is the dilapidated road from Chandra to Bangabandhu Bridge. There is no coordination between the two companies that are working to upgrade the highway to four lanes, he alleged. At a meeting held to exchange views with the executive engineers of the Roads and Highways Division (Khulna zone) at the Jessore Circuit House yesterday, Obaidul Quader directed them to repair the roads within 24 hours. Quader directed them to do the repairs at night so that vehicular movement is not hampered much. The engineers demanded security at night, which the minister granted. On Friday, Quader cancelled the Roads and Highway Division engineers Eid holidays to ensure the maintenance of the roads damaged by the recent floods.