Dhaka city on Friday experienced severe traffic congestion as almost all roads, lanes and by-lanes were choked with unusual traffic gridlock on weekends, causing immense sufferings to the city dwellers. People from all walks of life, after being trapped in 131-hour’s non-stop blockade enforced by the opposition alliance, were forced to come out of their houses to get their emergency works done on the day, leading to the heavy rush.
There was a mad rush of office goers, businessmen, students and patients on the city roads.
The worst traffic congestion was seen at Mirpur, Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, Asad Gate, Agargaon, Farmgate, Gulistan, Jatrabari, Saidabad, Dhanmondi, New Market, Kalabagan, Panthapath, Tejgaon industrial area, Moghbazar, Kakrail, Shantinagar, Khilgaon, Rampura and Badda areas.
Bidhan Chandra, a Goran resident, said his mother-in-law was to catch a bus at Motijheel to go to Khulna on Friday, the single day break in the opposition blockade.
‘Her bus was stuck at Gabtoli so I have to take her to Gabtoli. It was hazardous for an elderly person to go such a long way amid traffic jam,’ he said.
Jahangirnagar University student Mela said it took about two hours to come back from the university to her house at Farmgate.
Anupam and Shamim, a couple from Dhanmondi, came to Bashundhara Shopping Mall with their infant for emergency shopping.
‘We came here at 10:00am to avoid traffic congestion but we did not succeed,’ said Shamim.
People were also seen at different points waiting for transports but there was not sufficient number of buses and minibuses on the roads.
Leaders of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association said many city service buses and minibuses came to Dhaka from the outlaying areas including Gazipur, Narayanganj, Narsinghdi and Savar.
Due to traffic congestion many buses could not reach Dhaka in time which caused shortage of vehicles on Friday, said a senior leader.
-With New Age input
