Trip time almost doubles on heavily congested Dhaka-Ctg highway
It took less than six hours to Chittagong from Dhaka by bus a few years ago but in recent times it is around 10 hours and sometimes more due to worsening congestion.
Azadul Haque left for Dhaka from Chittagong around 10:30pm on a bus but the traffic was so bad on Dhaka Chittagong Highway that he reached Dhaka 14 hours later.
He had to fast without having sehri as the bus failed to reach a restaurant on the way within the time for sehri expired.
Delays like the one Azad faced are almost a regular phenomenon on the highway.
“I cannot reach Dhaka from Chittagong in less than 10 hours and I consider myself lucky if I can reach in less than eight,” said Julhas, who uses the highway often.
Only five years ago travelling between Dhaka and Chittagong took six hours now it takes around 10 hours or more due to congestion, said Khalilur Rahman, a driver of a luxury bus. He blamed too many vehicles using the narrow highway for the delays.
The annual traffic growth on the highway is eight percent, said an official of Roads and Highways Department.
Poor road conditions at different points and illegal occupation of the highway by land grabbers are worsening the situation, said bus drivers.
Ship-breaking yards also keep scrap metal on the highway between Chittagong and Baro Awliar Mazar in Chittagong narrowing the road down, they said.
There are 30 kitchen markets on the highway, which also grind traffic flow to a halt in some cases, he said.
The government constructed dividers to separate the lanes for local buses to ensure smooth movement for long-distance buses but the system did not work as land grabbers occupied lanes for local buses.
Md Selim, a driver of a bus service company, said the highway at different places is in very bad shape. A huge number of potholes have made it very risky.
He said trucks often load up with 40 tonnes of goods and use the highway damaging the tarmac. The bumpy roads reduce vehicle speed, he added. He said there are facilities to weigh trucks at two spots but those are not in use.
Another bus driver alleged that police take bribes from truckers stopping them on the highway which creates jams on the busiest highway in Bangladesh.
