The capital witnessed agonising traffic gridlocks thanks to traffic mismanagement and the pre-Eid shopping rush even on a public holiday.
Passengers remained stranded for hours at almost all major city thoroughfares which were choked with huge traffic congestion on the public holiday for Janmashtami on Thursday.
Vehicles remained stranded on roads for hours while traffic police had a hard time trying to ease tailbacks.
None of the few measures of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police worked to streamline the traffic as the DMP authorities said they had nothing to do to alleviate traffic congestion in the capital as many other government agencies were apparently involved.
Huge traffic gridlock was found on all roads leading towards different shopping malls and in main intersections and arteries including Panthopath, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Mirpur Road, Elephant Road, Mohakhali crossing, Moghbazar and Malibagh crossing, Inner Circular Road, Purana Paltan and Motijheel.
The alleyways near shopping centres were choked with traffic particularly rickshaws and CNGs.
‘Both sides of Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue from Shahbag crossing in the south to Jahangir gate in the north were jam packed with traffic for several hours at noon, with vehicles inching towards their destination,’ a traffic police on duty at Farmgate crossing said.
Traffic gridlock was also seen over and under the Mohakhali flyover throughout the day. ‘But traffic congestion eased in the afternoon just before iftar,’ another traffic police described.
‘There was relentless traffic gridlock from Elephant Road through Gulistan since the early hours of Thursday,’ a commuter described.
Coupled with the heavy presence of vehicles on the roads which is usual for the month of Ramadan, the traffic department’s failure to keep the roads clear by bringing an end to roadside parking was the main reason behind the traffic gridlock, alleged passengers.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority officials said they issued registrations to at least 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles every year.
Over 6.43 lakh motorised vehicles including cars, jeeps, microbuses, taxicabs, CNGs, buses, minibuses, trucks and human haulers were registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in Dhaka until 2011, according to BRTA statistics.
Of them, there were over two lakh cars, jeeps, microbuses and station wagons and over 19,000 public buses and minibuses.
The statistics also show that over two and a half lakh motor-cycles, 36 thousand trucks and 25 thousands human haulers ply the city roads.
Over five lakh illegal rickshaws ply the city streets, intensifying traffic congestion, Dhaka City Corporation sources said.
-With New Age input
