The Rajshahi city is experiencing serious traffic congestion because of illegal parking of unauthorised rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and human-haulers near markets, educational institutions and key installations.
According to a source, there are 30,000 rickshaws, 3,000 auto-rickshaws, 1,500 human haulers are playing the city roads and most of them are unauthorised but the Rajshahi City Corporation authorities said the number of rickshaws would not more than 18,000.
RCC sources said they had given licence to 18,000 rickshaws, 1,500 auto-rickshaws and they did not give any licence to the risky human haulers.
City dwellers claimed that the rickshaws, mostly unauthorised, hinder the parking and movement of cars as the rickshaw-pullers, most of whom are illiterate, hardly go by the traffic rules.
Unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands at busy points on the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway also contribute to the congestion in the city.
Although the Rajshahi City Corporation has set up rickshaw stands at different points in the city as well as in all of the 30 wards, rickshaw-pullers do not park their rickshaws at the stands, RCC sources said.
Students of different educational institutions, particularly of schools, and their parents suffer as a huge number of rickshaws and auto-rickshaws gather in front of the institution gates during the rush hours.
Although traffic police are deployed in front of different institutions such as Government Collegiate School, Government PN Girls’ High School, Government Laboratory School, Rajshahi College, New Government Degree College, Government City College, they most often fail to control the unruly rickshaw-pullers.
City dwellers alleged that in the absence of drive against illegal rickshaws and steps against violation of traffic rules, illegal parking of rickshaws and auto-rickshaws has become rampant.
They also alleged that the battery-run auto rickshaws are intensifying the traffic congestion in the city.
They also said the auto rickshaws are not only creating traffic congestion but also causing road accidents.
Jamat Khan, convener of Rajshahi Rakkha Sangram Parishad, told New Age that in the recent time the number of road accidents in Rajshahi city has increased alarmingly because of the auto-rickshaw.
He, however, demanded implementation of the ban on the battery-run auto-rickshaws, human-haulers and others risky vehicles.
One of the other main reasons behind the traffic jam in the Rajshahi city is makeshift shops on the road. The roads at Ganakpara, Saheb Bazar and New Market have been grabbed by hawkers and they have set up shops on the roads, causing serious traffic jam.
Roads narrowed down by the construction work for setting gas pipeline is another reason behind the traffic jam in the city.
A deputy commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, acknowledging the problem of unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands, told New Age that traffic police were directed not to allow vehicles to stop at unauthorised stoppages.
Rajshahi City Corporation panel mayor Sariful Islam Babu told New Age that all the makeshift shops on the roads would be removed.
After 5.00pm the city’s main roads would be closed for vehicles movement and at that time the hawkers would sit on the road and pedestrians would be able to move easily, he said, informing about their plan to curb traffic jam.
