Friday, October 11, 2024

Tailback to snarl on few points

Eid Rush on Highways
Tailback to snarl on few points
Although the highways connecting the capital with the rest of the country are in better condition than last year, people going home for Eid might face agonising delays due to tailbacks.
Hundreds of kilometres of pitted and potholed roads in all directions from the capital Dhaka have been somehow patched up over the months with emergency funds.
But there lurks the threat of lawlessness and consequent delays at many places between Dhaka and Chittagong, Mymensingh, Tangail and Barisal. Some stretches of roads are shabby where more delays are likely to cause the holidaymakers to suffer.
Our correspondents travelled by road to Chittagong and Mymensingh on Wednesday and our Barisal and Tangail correspondents filed the following reports on road conditions ahead of one of the largest festivals on the Islamic calendar.
DHAKA-CHITTAGONG
The gruelling pain of leaving Dhaka by road starts from Gulistan.
It could take up to three hours to negotiate the five kilometres through Joy Kali Mandir, Syedabad, Jatrabari and beyond the wholesale fish market.
According to bus drivers and travellers, sometimes the chaos is so severe that it takes more time to cross this tattered and chaotic road than it takes to travel the rest of 242km distance to Chittagong.
“The rush of vehicles leaving the capital during the Eid holidays will surely turn this exit into a nightmare unless drastic steps are taken to discipline it,” said Sobhan Mollah, a bus driver on the Chittagong-Dhaka highway for 20 years.
The traffic-jam-prone spots on the highway outside Dhaka begin from Comilla-Brahmanbaria intersection in front of Moinamati Cantonment.
Hundreds of vehicles get stranded often for hours. Trucks, easy bikes, human hauliers, microbuses, rickshaws and vans are seen parked on the highway, reducing a third of the road width.
Travellers and transport workers pleaded for immediate removal of the illegal parking to ease traffic movement.
The same anarchy on the busiest highway of the country was found at Podder Bazaar, Choddogram Bazaar, Barokunda, Sitakunda, Mirersorai, Feni Bus Terminal and at the Baroiarhat Bazaar, infamous for jams.
“The regular tailbacks at Barokunda, Choddogram Bazaar, Sitakunda, Mirersorai and Baroiarhat Bazaar are mainly caused by the pockets of dilapidated road in these areas,” said Sirajuddin, owner of a departmental store at Baroiarhat intersection.
“For the last five years, the highway there has remained in a dilapidated state and tailbacks could stretch for miles on both directions,” he added.
In order to bring some discipline, the authorities recently built bus bays on the above mentioned vulnerable areas.
The idea was to separate buses from the traffic.
But as soon as the bus bays were created, CNG-run three-wheelers, rickshaws, vans and easy bikes moved in to make the bus bays their parking space.
Thanks to the unusable bus bays, the main highway has now been significantly narrowed down, creating long tailbacks to the delight of dozens of vendors selling anything from bottled water to hot puffed rice to the stranded people.
“In addition to repairing the pockets of pitted roads the government must use any means to keep the highway free from these unacceptably defiant encroachments, which is causing suffering to thousands and inflicting irreparable damage to our economy,” said Kamal Uddin, a shopkeeper at Choddogram Bazaar.
Two other traffic-jam-prone spots have recently surfaced on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
On the Gumti and Daudkandi bridges, every vehicle is forced to slow down to crawling speed to negotiate the widening gaps between the bridge segments.
This too creates tailbacks on the vulnerable bridges.
DHAKA-MYMENSINGH
Compared to the condition of the highway last year, the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway is almost free of potholes.
Over the months emergency funds have been poured into the job of patching up the tattered highway.
The appalling state of the highway had caused an outcry throughout the country last year, forcing even pro-Awami League transport workers to cancel all bus services between the capital and Mymensingh.
The ride on the 116km-long highway is now more or less smooth, with patch-up work dotting the highway.
At places scratchy patch work, however, looks vulnerable to rain and high volume of heavy vehicles is expected to ply on it during Eid rush.
The 50km stretch from Mawna towards Mymensingh is bumpy and narrow at several places, with road-widening work and muddy diversions for construction of around half a dozen culverts.
Md Ershad, a driver who operates between Dhaka and Netrakona and Modanganj through Mymensingh, said all vehicles slowed down on the 50km stretch due to ongoing road-widening work and construction of culverts.
Md Ibrahim Hossain, a ticket counter clerk at Mohakhali Bus Terminal, said the danger during Eid rush lay in long tailbacks caused by haphazardly parked lorries.
“Last year it took 28 hours to travel from Bogra to Dhaka due to bottlenecks created by haphazardly parked vehicles,” Ibrahim said.
Abul Kalam, president of Mohakhali Bus Terminal Sharak Poribahan Owners’ Association, said police and relevant district administrations must ensure smooth traffic flow in their areas along the highway.
“They have to ensure that the highway through Ashulia Baipail to Chandra and Tongi to Gazipur Chowrasta is free from haphazardly parked vehicles, illegal bazaars, shops and vendors,” Abul Kalam pleaded.
“Otherwise we are looking at increased suffering for millions of Eid holidaymakers,” he added.
DHAKA-BARISAL
Once one has successfully negotiated the notorious jams of Naya Bazar and crossed the second Buriganga bridge, then the Padma river on a ferry, one should be able to reach Bhanga smoothly.
The remaining distance to Barisal from Bhanga is 120km.
The road to Khulna and other south and southwestern regions from Bhanga is rated to be the best in the country. But turning towards Barisal could be perilous.
At least 35km of this 120km-stretch road became unusable last year due to the appearance of large potholes everywhere.
The authorities over the last few months have patched it up. But heavy downpour during the ongoing monsoon has taken its toll on the patches, hastily completed to counter the countrywide outcry of 2011.
Dipak Das, vice-president of Barisal Bus Owners Association, claimed that at least one fourth of the Barisal-Bhanga highway had again become unfit for vehicles.
“More than 30km of the highway in Barisal at Kashipur, Rahmatpur, and Ichhladi, Gournadi, and Vurghata points are now potholed and pitted dangerously,” Dipak Das added.
Shams Mokaddes, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department Barisal, said they had already started repairing the highway and the work would be completed before the Eid rush.
Sources in the Roads and Highways Department said there were three traffic-jam-prone spots between Bhanga and Barisal.
Parking of buses, trucks, tempos, human hauliers, easy bikes, rickshaws and vans regularly causes tailbacks.
“During Eid, the on-duty traffic and police personnel are reluctant to maintain discipline as they openly extort money from all sorts of commercial transports plying the road,” said a source requesting anonymity.
As the highway snakes its way through Tekerhat, Gournadi and Bhanga, tailbacks are often created due to lawlessness.
DHAKA-TANGAIL
The condition of the Dhaka-Tangail highway, the gateway to the north, has improved significantly over the months.
But indiscriminate construction of speed bumps everywhere on the highway will certainly slow down the traffic movement and cause congestion during the rush days of Eid when thousands of additional vehicles will be shuttling.
On a single stretch of 45km on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, 30 speed bumps have recently been constructed without any regard for smooth traffic flow.
Encroachments of roadside parking spaces by all sorts of vehicles and illegal shops force many vehicles to stop on the highway and create severe tailbacks.
Exit towards Tangail from the capital is also riddled with similar chaos at Ashuliya and Chandra which might take hours to cross.
The 90km distance between Dhaka and Tangail could be extremely arduous. Travellers say that crossing 45km to Chandra on the Dhaka-Tangail highway often takes up to three hours.
“It takes about an hour to cover the remaining 45km,” said a traveller hailing from Tangail.
DHAKA-SYLHET
At least an 8km stretch of road from Chandipul to Tukerbazar on the Dhaka-Sylhet-Sunamganj highway is in dilapidated condition.
The 37km road between Sylhet and Companiganj and Bholaganj is also an example of sheer negligence since there have been no effective steps to keep the road usable.
Every day at least 2,000 trucks use this road for transporting stones from the country’s biggest quarry at Bholaganj.
Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil road is also in a bad shape. Sufferings will mount for Eid holidaymakers.

-With The Daily Star input

Related News

Two entire families lost to a road accident in Pirojpur

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least eight people from two families, including four children, died after a private car plunged into a roadside canal in Pirojpur early today. The deceased are Shawon, 32, his wife Amina, 25, their two children Sahadat, 7, and Abdullah, 3, from Bhaijhora village of Pirojpur’s Nazirpur upazila and Motaleb Sheikh, ... Read more

Italian embassy to resolve 20,000 visa applications by December: Foreign adviser

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said that the Italian Embassy in Dhaka will clear 20,000 visa applications by December as many visa applications had been pending for a long time. “Twenty thousand visa cases have been cleared from Rome. [However] Progress in issuing those visas is very slow. ... Read more

Prof Mobasser Monem appointed as new PSC Chairman

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has appointed Dr Mobasser Monem, a Professor of Governance and Public Management at the University of Dhaka, as the new Chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC). Along with Professor Monem, four others have been appointed as members of the BPSC. The four members are– Md Suzayet Ullah, ... Read more

Govt urges IOM to evacuate Bangladeshis

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka has requested the International Organisation for Migration to arrange chartered flights to bring back Bangladeshis willing to leave Lebanon amid airstrikes by Israel on the West Asian country. ‘We have requested the IOM to arrange flights to evacuate Bangladeshis willing to leave Lebanon. But Beirut’s airport is currently unsafe for ... Read more

Flood puts hundreds at risk of starvation

Emran Hossain The ongoing flash flooding puts hundreds of farmer families at immediate risk of starvation in Sherpur district, washing away the rice they stored from the previous harvest and also destroying the standing paddy fields. The divisional office of the Department of Agricultural Extension estimated that the flood affected 97,000 hectares of standing aman ... Read more

Price hikes strain people

Moinul Haque The soaring prices of essential commodities, including rice, vegetables, eggs and broiler chicken, put increasing pressure on the low-income people, pushing them further to the wall. Market analysts have expressed concerns over the unusual spiralling of prices of the essentials, criticising the interim government for its failure to take timely action to protect ... Read more

Four days Durga Puja holiday starting from Thursday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh’s interim government has announced an additional public holiday on Thursday, October 10, for Durga Puja, the largest religious celebration of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, says a press release. During a press conference held on Wednesday at the Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka, Mahfuj Alam, special assistant to chief adviser, made ... Read more

Tiger population in Sundarbans rises to 125

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The number of Royal Bengal tigers in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans has increased to 125. The Ministry of Forests has published the results of the third phase of the tiger census. The survey was conducted between June 2023 and March 2024 to observe the population of the national animal of Bangladesh. Environment, forest ... Read more

Environment ministry asks BRTA to remove unfit vehicles from streets

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The environment, forest and climate change ministry on Sunday sent a letter to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority requesting removal of buses, minibuses, trucks and covered vans exceeded their economic life from roads in an effort to reduce air pollution. The ministry, in a press release, also urged the authority to ... Read more

HSC results to be published on October 15

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations of this year will be published on October 15. Dhaka Education Board Chairman and head of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee Prof Tapan Kumar Sarkar confirmed this information on Monday (October 7). The results will be published around 11:00am, Prof ... Read more

Worst-affected people get least aid: CPD

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The worst-affected people received the least relief assistance in the flash flooding that swept parts of Bangladesh in August affecting over 5.6 million people, revealed a Centre for Policy Dialogue analysis. The analysis, released on Sunday, estimates the overall loss and damage suffered by 11 districts in the flood at minimum ... Read more

47th BCS circular to be released in due time

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) is preparing to release the circular for the 47th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination in due time. They are now discussing the issue with the public administration ministry. According to the cadre section of the BPSC, the number of vacancies are yet to be finalised, but ... Read more

Flood causes damage worth Tk 14,421 crore in eastern Bangladesh: CPD

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The recent floods in eastern Bangladesh caused damage estimated at Tk 14,421.46 crore, which is around $1.20 billion, according to a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). The findings were presented at a media briefing titled “Recent Flood Damage and Rehabilitation Process in Eastern Region: CPD’s Analysis” at the ... Read more

Malaysia to accept 18,000 workers who missed deadline

Says Asif Nazrul News Desk : dhakamirror.com Malaysia has agreed to receive 18,000 Bangladeshi workers who previously missed a deadline to enter the country, said Dr Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. “Now, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare of Bangladesh will work with our Malaysian counterparts to establish a ... Read more

3 killed as gas cylinder blasts at restaurant in Keraniganj

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least three restaurant workers were killed and several others injured in a gas cylinder blast on Saturday evening at ‘Ghorowa Hotel and Restaurant’ at Ramer Kanda in Keraniganj in Dhaka. Three other shops were also burnt in the incident as the fire broke out from the restaurant. The victims are ... Read more

Ex-president Badruddoza Chowdhury dies at 93

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former president Professor AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, popularly known as B Chowdhury, passed away in the early hours of Saturday (5 October). He was 93. The former president breathed his last at the Medical College for Women in Uttara at 3:10am, Jahangir Alam, press secretary of the former president, said in a ... Read more

Two students drown in Mirsarai waterfall

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The bodies of two young tourists were recovered from the deep well of Rupashi Waterfall in Chattogram’s Mirsarai yesterday (4 October), hours after they were reported missing. The deceased were identified as Musfiqur Rahman, 21, and Mahbub Rahman Mustakim, 21, both residents of Narayanganj. “A search and rescue team from the ... Read more

Railway to operate special passenger trains on Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route during Durga Puja holidays

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In anticipation of increased demand during the Durga Puja and weekly holidays, the Bangladesh Railway has decided to operate seven additional special passenger trains on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route. These trains will run from 10 October to 13 October, supplementing the two regular trains already operating on the route. The director ... Read more

Bangladeshi expat wins Tk 65 cr in lottery in UAE Big Ticket draw

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladeshi expat Abul Monsur, hailing from Chattogram, has won Dh20 million, or over Tk65 crore, grand prize with the latest Big Ticket draw in the United Arab Emirates. Abul Monsur Abdul Sabur, a 50-year-old based in Abu Dhabi, has been buying the raffle draws’ entries since 2007. In its latest edition, ... Read more

Motorcycle sales tumble to seven-year low

Mahfuz Ullah Babu Rising costs, consumers’ weakening purchasing capacity, and adverse policy treatments blamed The hope of manufacturers for a scaled-up motorcycle market – to reach a million units a year by 2027 – now seems to be fading away. The economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp rise in costs and selling prices, has instead ... Read more