People from Dhaka on their way to outlying areas suffered because of huge tailbacks on different highways on Friday. After being trapped for 72 hours during the fourth spell of blockade of road, railway and waterways, enforced by the opposition alliance, people rushed out of their houses in droves, leading to the heavy rush. Thousands of passengers were caught in a 60-kilometre tailback on Dhaka-Chittagong highway’s Padmar Bazar Biswa road, stretching from Sadar Dakkshin upazila to Daudkandi upazila, reported our Comilla correspondent. Passengers suffered enormously for about 11 hours on Friday.
Mainamati highway police officer-in-charge, Moshiur Rahman said the gridlock started after a goods-laden truck broke down at the Cantonment area in Sadar upazila around 3.00am. Members of the police removed the truck from the highway around 5.00am after which the vehicles started slowly moving. However, the two-hour hold up caused a tailback that lasted from 10.00am till 4.00pm.
Meanwhile, in Sirajganj, untimely repair works on the west side of the Bangabandhu bridge slowed down the vehicular movement on Saidabad-Kodda-Nolka road at Sirajganj since Friday morning, our Sirajganj correspondent reported.
Labourers repaired the joint expansion at the bridge’s fourth culvert area after Friday afternoon.
Sirajgan traffic division sergeant Rakibul Hasan said that the authorities were scheduled to start work from Saturday. However, as another blockade is scheduled from today, the contractor company to maintain the bridge decided to do the work on Friday, said Mozammel Haque, chief engineer Meteorological Construction Company of China.
In Dhaka, people flocked the Gabtoli, Mahakhali and Saidabad bus terminals to reach destinations such as Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Bogra, Pabna, Jessore, Khulna, Chittagong, Satkhira, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal.
Different bus operators said that they would run buses till 10:00pm on Friday to accommodate the rush.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority joint director (traffic) Saiful Hoque told New Age that since Thursday evening many people were leaving Dhaka for different areas.
‘About 50 launches are scheduled to start from Dhaka as there is a huge pressure of passengers,’ he added on Friday.
-With New Age input
