Rain, highway chaos and protests leave Eid travellers stranded for hours

Holidayers endure severe bottlenecks on major highways as rain and poor traffic management on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway turn trips into nightmare

For years, Eid journeys out of Dhaka have meant one thing for travellers: gridlock. This Eid-ul-Azha is no different.

While many who left the capital during the first two days escaped major suffering, relentless rain and mounting congestion from Monday triggered severe disruptions across highways leading to Chattogram, Sylhet, Mymensingh and northern Bangladesh.

The situation worsened on Tuesday when garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway for nearly three hours, paralysing traffic for several kilometres.

Despite the chaos, Home Advisor Salahuddin Ahmed said the government had taken “all necessary measures” to ensure people could celebrate Eid with relatives outside Dhaka and return safely to work afterwards.

Commuters, however, flooded social media with criticism, blaming poor traffic management and weak enforcement.

Those who left Dhaka on Monday morning reached destinations with relatively little trouble.

Until noon, law-enforcing agencies managed to keep exit routes under control. But torrential rain from midday appeared to break whatever order remained, with traffic jams spiralling from the afternoon onward.

On northern routes, severe congestion hit areas including Bhogra Bypass, Chandra intersection and Baipail after noon.

Travellers said crossing Chandra -- just 48km from Dhaka -- took between four and a half and five hours.

Bank officer Golam Sarwar, who left Dhaka Monday night for Kurigram with his wife and two children, described an exhausting ordeal.

“Our 9pm bus left at 11pm. The driver went through Dhamrai and Kalampur directly to Delduar in Tangail. Even then, it was around 7am when we crossed Jamuna Bridge. Those who travelled via Chandra took even longer.”

Sarwar said traffic later slowed again in Gobindaganj and near Rangpur Modern intersection before he finally reached Kurigram in the afternoon.

Rajshahi-bound passenger Imran Hasan said, “The Gabtoli traffic last night seemed to stretch all the way to Kalabagan. It took over two hours just to reach Kallyanpur to catch a bus. Then another one-and-a-half to two hours just to get out of Gabtoli.”

Businessman Hasibur Rahman criticised terminal management and unchecked roadside parking.

“We never learned proper terminal-based bus management. Buses leave straight from the roads. At Chandra, where bus bays were built, buses remain parked anyway. Police seem ignored by drivers.”

He also criticised toll collection at Jamuna Bridge.

“It’s been 27 years since Jamuna Bridge opened, yet we still don’t have automated toll collection. The roads improve after the bridge, but travellers still suffer huge jams just to pay tolls.”

The misery deepened on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway when workers of Chaiti Garments blocked the road at Sonargaon’s Tripardi around 1pm, demanding unpaid wages and bonuses.

Police later dispersed them with batons, tear gas and rubber bullets after nearly three hours.

Kanchpur Highway Police chief Shamim Sheikh said the blockade caused heavy congestion on one lane.

On Facebook, traveller Mahfuzul Haque Shipon wrote: “Traffic from Madanpur to Sonargaon. I’ve been stuck in one spot for over one and a half hours. Nothing moves.”

Meanwhile, ongoing construction and rain worsened chronic congestion on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, while commuters on the Dhaka-Mymensingh route reported stop-start traffic from Tongi to Bhaluka.