A heavy pressure of vehicles on the Dhaka–Chittagong highway caused a massive traffic congestion from the Daudkandi toll plaza to Kachpur Bridge yesterday. Traffic snarls on this highway have become a regular feature on Thursdays and Fridays due to high freight movement on these two days. Besides, people from Dhaka head for Comilla and Chittagong on the weekly holidays, adding to the traffic volume. Locals say the slow pace of toll collection at both Daudkandi and Meghna toll plazas largely contribute to the traffic jam. They also say that such traffic jams would continue to inconvenience people if the pace of work does not pick up at Gomoti and Meghna Bridges due to the practice of earning some extra money by unscrupulous officials. The traffic congestion on the

Dhaka-Chittagong highway aggravated since early Friday. A 2-km-long stretch of the Comilla highway was choked with vehicles around the Daudkandi toll plaza.

Vehicles were caught in a jam stretching from Gomati Bridge to Meghna Bridge, Gazaria area of Munshiganj and Sonarga near Kachpur Bridge. It was taking five to to six hours to cross this 30-km-long stretch.

The officer-in-charge of Daudkandi Highway Police said the main bottlenecks were at Meghna Bridge, Ghazaria and Kachpur. “We are unable to send any vehicles there. As a result, a 2-km-stretch is blocked in the Daudkandi section of Comilla. If there is no easing of the traffic congestion at Meghna Bridge and Gazaria, the traffic jam in Comilla might increase,” he added.