40km tailback on Tangail highway
A 40-kilometre stretch of Dhaka-Tangail Highway was hit by serious traffic congestion for 11 hours since Thursday night that caused untold sufferings to passengers.
Different reasons including accidents, broken-down vehicles, huge pressure on the road, work of the four-lane project and sleeping drivers were behind the traffic chaos, highway police said.
The tailbacks of hundreds of vehicles, including passenger buses, was first created when a sand-laden truck broke down in Dherua area in Mirzapur around 11:30pm, sources said.
The situation turned acute after a collision between a truck and a private car in Jamurki area in the same upazila around 1:30am.
The tailbacks spread from Chandra Intersection in Gazipur to Rabna Bypass in Tangail after another truck broke down in Charpara area in the same upazila around 6:00am, the sources added.
Harun-or-Rashid, a private firm official, said he had suffered a lot as his bus took seven hours instead of three hours to reach Tangail from Dhaka.
Truck driver Abdul Hamid said his vehicle was stuck at Hatubhanga, Gorai, Mirzapur, Dhalla, Pakulla, Natiapara and Karatia for at least five hours.
“Actually, the congestion was created because of road accidents and broken-down vehicles,” said Khalilur Rahman Patwari, officer-in-charge of Gorai Highway Police Station.
“The situation turned complicated when many of the truck drivers fell asleep in their vehicles after they were stuck on the road,” he added.
A huge number of vehicles travelling to 26 districts including 16 northern and five southwestern districts use the two-lane highway. The number of vehicles increases further on weekends and holydays.
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