Highways see tailback as Eid rush begins

Long tailbacks were created on different roads and highways, including Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Ashulia ones, on Wednesday as a large number of people have started leaving the capital for their ancestral homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones.

The traffic snarls caused severe suffering for the home-bound people with children and the elderly being the worst sufferers.

As the Eid day is drawing nearer, many people, including job holders, are sending their family members, mostly wives and children, to their village homes early to avoid hassle on highways.

As the Road Transport and Highways Department has imposed a ban on the movement of motorcycles from one district to another for seven days before and after Eid beginning today, many motorcyclists left Dhaka before the restrictions come into effect.

Many people, who have not been able to collect bus-train tickets, were riding motorcycles while others were taking their bikes along with them in fear of those being stolen. On Wednesday, such a picture was seen at Gabtoli, one of the exit points of Dhaka.

The Narayanganj section of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway saw severe congestion on a five-km portion. Many people were seen walking on foot for their destinations.

The highway stretch from Madanpur port to Mogharapara in Sonargaon was severely congested. Besides, vehicles were seen moving slowly from Moghrapara to Meghnaghat.

Talking to several passengers, it was learned that people were returning home early due to the closure of educational institutions to avoid suffering.

Therefore, the crowd of passengers increased since noon. But the home-bound passengers were suffering after being stuck in tailbacks for long amid scorching heat.

Shariful Alam said he was sending his family home on Wednesday to avoid hassle as there will be huge pressure of passengers from today when all the offices go on holiday. “But I came to know after talking to my wife that there was severe traffic jam on the highway.”

Another passenger named Halima Khatun said she boarded the car at Kanchpur around 12 noon for Chattogram. “It took me 30 minutes to reach Madanpur, originally a 10-15 minute path. I’m still stuck at the Madanpur signal. I don't know when I’ll reach Chattogram.”

Meanwhile, transport owners were allegedly overcharging passengers on different routes.

Faridpur-bound passenger Quamrun Nahar said transport agency ‘Golden Line’ charged her Tk 600 against the actual fare of Tk 350 for the Eid trip.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Kanchpur Highway Police Station Nabir Hossain said the traffic jam was created due to heavy pressure of passengers. “We’re working to ease the situation. I hope the traffic jam will be resolved very soon.”

Meanwhile, after different parts of Dhaka, including the capital, experienced rain from Tuesday night, severe traffic jam was created on Dhaka-Ashulia road.

Hundreds of vehicles got stuck on the road since the morning. The vehicles were seen moving at a snail’s pace.

In such a situation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has urged people not to use the road for the time being to avoid traffic jam.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Farooq Hossain said hundreds of vehicles were stuck on the Dhaka-Ashulia road due to rain. “The road is completely blocked.”

There is a spillover effect of the traffic jam on the capital, he said. “Therefore, all are being requested to use an alternative road instead of this road for the time being. This will help bring the traffic situation under control.”