Suffering may occur in 94 places of seven highways during the Eid journey
Photo Collected
The journey of people towards home for Eid celebration started yesterday Saturday. But still the main stress remains. People associated with the railway and transport sectors say that the main crowd will be homebound people
Next Monday to Wednesday — these three days. On the one hand, people will run from Dhaka on their way home and sacrificial animals will continue to come on the way to Dhaka.
বিজ্ঞাপন
This time the condition of the country’s roads and highways can be said to be fairly good. However, due to the development project, there is a danger of congestion on the Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-North Bengal roads. Meanwhile, the Highway Police has identified 94 spots on the highway where traffic jams are expected.
These include several toll plazas, intersections and important industrial and market areas of large bridges. As a result, experts believe that the last three days of Eid journey will suffer or not, it depends on the management.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Bangladesh University of Engineering researchers have shown that 1.2 million to 1.5 million people leave Dhaka in the three-four days before Eid. Especially during Eid-ul-Azha, the most people leave Dhaka, that is, an average of 3.5 million people will leave Dhaka every day. But buses, trains, launches, motorcycles, all in all, there are 2.2 million people’s transportation system. Unfit vehicles go down to meet the needs of others.
This holy Eid-ul-Azhar holiday is seven days. There will be a holiday from 25th to 31st May. Long holidays were given in the last few Eids. There has been some success in this. But the pressure of the last two-three days remains.
Every year on the occasion of Eid, the highway police identifies traffic jammed places. 94 places have been identified as traffic jam prone by the Central Office of Highway Police and Gazipur region. These places are located on the main seven highways of the country. These seven highways connect almost all the divisions and districts of the country.
On May 5, an Eid preparatory meeting was held at the Secretariat under the chairmanship of Road, Rail and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam. There, the details of 94 traffic-prone places were discussed and necessary actions were discussed in this regard. Besides, the government’s law enforcement agencies and other concerned departments are instructed to take necessary measures.
The most congested highways in the highway police list are Dhaka-North Bengal, Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet highways. Among these three highways, there are 25 congested areas on the northern route, 25 on the Chittagong route and 21 on the Sylhet route.
The western end of Chandra Udalsad at Gazipur on the northbound highway from Dhaka via Tangail has been shown to be very dangerous. The work of four lanes on this road is almost at the final stage. But some subways and flyovers still have some work to do. The highway police is afraid of traffic jams at these places.
Apart from this, there are many garment factories between Dhaka and Tangail. Crossing arrangements have been made by cutting highway dividers near many factories. Traffic congestion is also being feared in them. Bus stands and markets along the highway have also been asked to be monitored.
The project to upgrade the Dhaka-Sylhet highway to four lanes is underway. Among them, Ashuganj Roundabout and Bishwa Road junction have caused inconvenience to passengers in the last two Eids. This time too there are pitfalls in these two places. There is also mismanagement. Apart from this, traffic congestion is feared at many places in the industrial areas of Narayanganj and Narsingdi.
The toll plaza of the Meghna-Gomti Bridge between the Dhaka-Chittagong highway is often congested. This time, fears have been expressed about the toll plaza of the bridge during Eid. Apart from this, Madhaiya, Chandina and Nimsa markets of Comilla are next to the highway. The highway police mentioned that there may be traffic jam in this area as well. The condition of the highway on the Dhaka-Barisal route is good. However, there is a risk of traffic jam at Mustafapur bus stand in Madaripur.
The three major routes out of Dhaka are Gabtali-Savar, Uttara-Abdullahpur and Mayor Hanif Udalsad. In Eid-ul-Azha there are some obstacles in all these three ways. Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mawa routes pass through the toll plaza of Mayor Hanif Udal Road. In the last few Eids, there has been a long delay in paying the toll of this airport. That fear is working this time too.
Traffic is plying on the way to Mymensingh and North Bengal via Uttara. Due to the BRT project between Airport-Gazipur, the road has suffered for a long time. Apart from this, Dhaka-Ashulia flyover is also suffering now. Travel to North Bengal and South-West region through Gabtali is relatively smooth. But bus stop at Gabtali Animal Market, Hemayetpur in Savar may increase congestion due to passenger movement.
Last Friday, several places of Dhaka-Aricha highway and Nabinagar to Chandra highway were seen, Dhaka-Aricha highway Hemayetpur, Boliyarpur, Pakija point of Savar, Thana stand, Savar Bazar, Nabinagar and Nabinagar to Chandra highway bypile, Palli Vidyut and Bolibhadra areas are running recklessly on the highway. At Savar, Nabinagar, Radio Colony and Bypile Bus Stands, passenger buses are seen crossing the freeway lane of the highway and blocking the bus behind to ferry passengers. Apart from the specific location of the bus stand, buses stop randomly and transfer passengers.
Shamim, the driver of Asad Paribahan, who is going from Rangpur to Dhaka, said that there is no problem on the road now. There will be problems before Eid. He thinks that the problem will be reduced if the police perform their duties properly on the road.
Dhaka District (North) Traffic Police Inspector (Administration) Ruhul Amin Sohel told Prothom Alo that 650 additional policemen of Dhaka District Police will be deployed from eight o’clock tomorrow (Sunday) morning to ensure uninterrupted Eid journey on the highway.
Traffic congestion at Brahmanbaria’s Sarail Bishwa Road roundabout on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway has become a daily affair. Due to the ongoing development work, the roundabout area is narrow on one side and the illegal stands of CNG-powered auto-rickshaws on the highway, on the other hand, this situation is going on due to potholes. 34 km section of the highway is experiencing traffic jam due to the increase in traffic on the occasion of Eid.
Superintendent of Police (SP) of Sylhet Region of Highway Police said yesterday at around 6:30 p.m. Rezaul Karim was seen staying at Biswa Road intersection. He is trying to keep traffic on the highway normal. However, CNG-powered auto-rickshaws and other illegal vehicles were seen to be uncontrolled on the highway.
However, the government has taken several initiatives to make the Eid trip smooth. Among them, BGB has been deployed in Dhaka and surrounding areas to maintain law and order situation, control traffic and ensure smooth movement of people.
Recently, BGB has said that according to the government’s instructions, BGB members will perform duties from seven days before Eid to three days after Eid. They will assist in the functioning of mobile courts run by Executive Magistrates at important toll plazas, highways and congested areas to maintain overall law and order.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has 19 executive magistrates running mobile courts. Apart from this, their monitoring team is working in the capital’s bus terminals.
The Directorate of Roads and Highways (SOAZ) and the Bridges Department have introduced toll collection system through Visa and MasterCard on 12 important bridges. There will be machines at the toll plazas, where you can touch the card for fast crossing.
Sources associated with the Ministry of Road Transport and transport business say that if it rains before Eid, the jam may increase. Because many highways have not been completed. And in the rain, the speed of the vehicle slows down. Another problem is that buses are unsuitable for running on Eid. On Eid-ul-Azha, trucks are also called unfit for movement. These trucks take passengers again on the way back. Failure to manage these issues will increase the risk of traffic congestion.
Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) civil engineering department professor and transportation expert. Hadiuzzaman told Prothom Alo that a four-lane wide road has been made. But the capacity has not increased. There is also mismanagement. During Eid, the government agencies work hard to keep traffic normal. However, if there is an accident, rain or any other problem, that effort does not work. As a result, there is a possibility of suffering.
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