Government’s initiatives to ease the city’s traffic congestion, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, went in vain rather the situation deteriorated further much to the sufferings of common people.
Indiscriminate car parking in front of shopping malls, violation of traffic rules, unauthorised U-turn, jaywalking and road digging by various utility service providers are mainly intensifying the traffic jam in the city.
Earlier, junior secondary and secondary schools and madrasas went on vacation from August 4 on education ministry’s order to improve the traffic condition in the city.
Other educational institutions including colleges and universities will follow suit from August 16. The situation, however, has not even improved a bit.
As the holy month Ramadan is passing by, low-income group specially day labourer and rickshaw puller from different places of the country are streaming to the capital to earn extra money to celebrate Eid rubbing salt into the wounds.
Illegal parking is another reason for traffic jam. Cars, motorcycle and other vehicles are parked almost everywhere. Eid shoppers often leave two to three rows of parked cars outside popular shopping centres contributing to the traffic tailback.
Illegal parking in front of Gausia and Newmarket occupies the road which caused serious traffic congestion in Nilkhet, Newmarket and Dhaka College area.
In Kakrail, Malibagh, Santinagar and Mouchak area huge traffic jam is very common during the month of Ramada as the places have lot of shopping centres including Polwel Super Market, City Heart, Karnaphuli Garden City, Twin Tower, Mouchak market and Hosaf Shopping Complex.
Between Panthapath and Sonargaon intersection traffic jam at anytime of the day is horrible because of the city’s biggest shopping mall Bashundhara.
Saiful Islam, a government official said, “I came to Newmarket for shopping. It took me two hours to reach the market from Mohammadpur.”
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain has recently told parliament that the main streets of the capital are now overburdened with different modes of transport, as the thoroughfares can hardly contain 2.16 lakh vehicles as per international standard.
He said the capital Dhaka has only 88 kilometres of roads where approximately 5.5 lakh vehicles ply everyday. As per international standard it requires 204 kilometres roads.
In the rush hour, a distance of three to four kilometres can take about an hour to reach. Destinations like Gulisthan, Motijheel, Old Dhaka, Maghbazar, Malibagh, Gulshan, Banani and Dhanmondi are nightmares for commuters from any point in the city.
Especially frustrating points are Mohakhali, the road in front of the prime minister’s office, Hotel Sonargaon crossing, Elephant Road, Science Laboratory, Green Road, Maghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Khilghaon, Rampura, Jatrabari, Sayedabad, and old parts of the city mainly Dholaikhal, Postagola, Bangshal, Chowkbazar and Imamganj.
