Long bumper-to-bumper tailbacks were seen on almost all major streets yesterday as a daylong drizzle intensified traffic jams, causing immense sufferings for thousands of city dwellers.
Passengers passed agonising minutes waiting in their vehicles to cross intersections.
Most roads that lead to the major shopping hubs and exit points of the capital were clogged with vehicles as Eid shoppers poured in and many started to leave for their homes, witnesses and traffic police said.
Many people, including children and women with shopping bags in hands, were seen walking through dilapidated roads and footpaths due to an absence of adequate public transport.
Daylong rains caused waterlogging on many streets, obstructing vehicular movements. People were seen crossing roads by wading through knee-deep filthy water.
Movements of pedestrians and vehicles became difficult due to stagnant water on roads linked to Rokeya Sarani-Bijoy Sarani-Shewrapara, Shyamoli- Kalyanpur-Khamarbari, Dhanmondi-Elephant Road-Shahbagh, Paltan-Fakirapool-Kamalapur, Gulistan-Sayadabad-Jatrabari-Dayaganj-Jurain.
Talking to The Daily Star, Alomgir Kabir, deputy commissioner (DC) of traffic (South division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, held the daylong drizzle responsible for intensifying yesterday’s traffic jam.
Traffic police were seen standing helpless at many intersections while some of them were grappling with heavy traffic on the streets in a bid to ease commuters’ sufferings.
Numerous potholes and unplanned digging on city streets by different government agencies only worsened the situation. Many vehicles were seen trapped in large potholes.
To capitalise on the Eid shopping spree, hawkers set up their makeshift shops on the pavements and streets, narrowing down the busy thoroughfares. This added to the congestion in many areas.
“Almost two-thirds of the roads at different places remained submerged in stagnant water, and many drivers did not dare to have their vehicles pass through such roads out of fear the potholes could damage the engines,” DC Alomgir said.
“Usually more vehicles ply the city roads in Ramadan every year and, therefore, almost all roads remain packed with vehicles,” he added.
Adnan Sheikh, a motorcyclist who started for Mirpur from Jatrabari, said it took him a staggering two hours to reach Paltan.
“Usually it takes less than an hour to reach Mirpur from Jatrabari,” he added.
Jamal Hossain, driver of a public bus, said almost one and a half hours elapsed before he could reach Shahbagh from Bangabandhu Avenue.
-With The Daily Star input
