Traffic congestion on highways as Eid holidaymakers rush home

The rush of Eid-ul-Fitr holidaymakers has created huge traffic congestion on a 13-kilometre stretch of Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Munshiganj’s Gazaria.

Tangail CorrespondentMunshiganj and sbdnews24.com
Published : 22 June 2017, 03:24 PM
Updated : 22 June 2017, 03:24 PM

North of the capital Dhaka, vehicles are moving slowly on the Tangail highway due to roadworks.

Traffic snarls on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway from Meghna Bridge to Baushia have hit passengers since Thursday morning. The number of vehicles on the road to Mawa is less.

Bhaberchar Highway Police Camp Sub-Inspector Md Hashem Uddin said the pressure of vehicles carrying homebound people mounted on Thursday morning.

Vehicles bound for 21 southern districts have to cross the Meghna-Gomati Bridge. The tolling at the bridge takes more time now after the development of the highway to a four-lane one. The situation worsens if any vehicle goes out of order.

A huge number of people were expected to leave Dhaka for home after the office hours on Thursday, the last workday before Eid. This is feared to create more pressure on the highways on Thursday night.

In Tangail, vehicles have lined up on the highway for long times since Thursday morning, but those were not ‘intolerable congestion’, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mahbub Alam told bdnews24.com.

He said around 1,000 police personnel were deployed to ease the gridlock on the highway.

According to him, 19,000 vehicles crossed the highway on Wednesday. The number would cross 25,000 on Thursday, according to Senior Assistant SP Mohammad Masudur Rahman Monir.

“Potholes added to congestion. But the Tangail Road Transport and Highways Division is continuing with repairing the potholes,” Monir said.

Tangail Road Transport and Highways Division Executive Engineer KM Noor-e-Alam said around 40- kilometre stretch of the highway is getting four lanes.

The construction of a footbridge on the railway tracks in Comilla’s Kaduar Bazar is creating traffic congestion in the area.

Traffic jam was also seen in Daudkandi.

Traffic through Savar has been moving slowly since morning, mostly due to local transporters stopping on the way for passengers.

Traffic Police Inspector Abul Hossain said the traffic jams on the road this time were not as bad as before.

The pressure of heavy vehicles carrying goods was high on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in Gazipur as the government banned such vehicles on highways for six days during Eid, Sub-Inspector Binoy Kumar Sarker said.

The illegal parking on both sides of Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway has raised fears of traffic congestions in Charpara, Churkhai, Trishal, Bhoradoba, Bhaluka, Seedstore, Joina Bazar and Joydebpur intersection.

Mymensingh Superintendent of Police Syed Nurul Islam said illegal stands and markets were evicted from the highway to keep it clear during Eid.