Thousands of people, particularly women and children, have been facing immense sufferings due to congestion on the Dhaka-Bangabandhu Bridge highway. Heavy traffic, rain, violation of traffic rules by drivers, Eid holidays, breakdown of old vehicles, narrow bridges and highways, lack of road divider, plying of Nasimon-Korimon and illegal parking are responsible for the gridlock. There was a severe traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Tangail highway from 9am yesterday (Saturday), said Sahabul Islam,a sub-inspector of Mirzapur Traffic Police. It resulted from a gridlock at the Chandra intersection and spread 23km up to Kurni.

 At 11pm on Friday, a truck loaded with MS rods and bound for Tangail broke down on the Kaliakor overbridge. Cattle-loaded trucks and passenger buses were stuck for hours. The congestion spread 70km from Chandra to Elenga. The truck was moved from the highway and traffic started moving slowly.

 Thousands of passengers were stranded on highways leading to Dhaka and the northern region since the early hours of Saturday. The never-ending traffic snarl on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge highway was due to heavy rush of vehicles. It is learnt that buses of 117 routes of the north and about 50 routes of Tangail, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Mymensingh, Gazipur districts ply on the highway.

 The pressure of traffic has increased ahead of Eid. Large trucks loaded with cattle are moving on the highway, in addition to buses. The railway failed to provide tickets to people bound for Kurigram, Dinajpur and other northern districts, as train lines have been damaged by flood waters. These people are travelling by buses on the highway.

 It was learnt from drivers and passengers that it is taking 5-6 hours to travel from Tangail to Dhaka, against the normal time of 2-3 hours. Construction work on the Dherua overbridge and three other over-passes, 10 old and dilapidated bridges on the highway, potholes, lack of coordination between contractors engaged in the work to upgrade the highway to four lanes from the present two are the major causes of the congestion.

 Main Uddin, OC of Gorai Highway police station, said the traffic police, highway police and thana police have been toiling hard to ease the gridlock.

 Md Mahbub Alam, SP of Tangail, said: “In all, 750 law enforcers have been deployed to make the highway free from congestion. Towing vehicles have been kept ready to remove broken down vehicles from the highway.”

 Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, Superintendent of Police (SP), Gazipur, said that around 1,200 policemen are working on the highway to ensure safe journey and keep the situation normal. They have also taken various other steps, including setting up of control rooms at important points of the highway, added the SP.

Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway  Vehicles were seen moving slowly on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway from the Bhogra bypass to Chandina Chowrasta due to the shabby condition of the road. There is a 10-km-long tailback. Passengers said it is taking two to three hours to cover a 30-minute distance.

 Comilla correspondent adds: Traffic on the Dhaka-Chittagong national highway became normal yesterday. But traffic congestion is prevailing at the Daudkandi toll plaza (Chittagong to Dhaka) and the Meghna bridge ghat toll plaza (Dhaka to Chittagong).

 The authorities have set up weighing machines on either side of the road to test overloaded trucks. This was causing a minor traffic jam.