Traffic chaos, sufferings on
With the flow of holidaymakers reaching its peak, several highways and ferry terminals witnessed severe traffic jams for the third day in a row yesterday, causing people to suffer.
Desperately waiting to celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha on Tuesday with their families, the holidaymakers suffered delays at bus terminals in the capital as the schedules of bus operators collapsed due to long tailbacks on highways.
Buses were stuck in traffic snarls on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Tangail highways and also at ferry terminals on Daulatdia-Paturia and Shimulia-Kawrakandi routes for hours.
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“My bus was scheduled to reach Dhaka at 9:00am. It is around noon now and I don't know when the bus would arrive,” Sabbir Hossain, who was heading for Rangpur, told The Daily Star in Kalyanpur area.
After boarding, most of the bus passengers endured delays as their vehicles got stuck on gridlocked highways.
Highway police said a huge traffic flow, haphazard movement of vehicles and breakdowns caused the tailbacks.
However, train and launch services were not as bad as that of bus. Most of the trains and launches were delayed between around 30 minutes and an hour on average, said officials concerned.
There was around a 25 km long tailback on a part of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway stretching from Rajarhat area in Daudkandi, Comilla to Meghna bridge area in Gazaria of Munshiganj, reports a correspondent from Daudkandi.
Ambulance driver Murad Hossain, who was transporting a kidney patient, said: “We've been stranded here [near Meghna bridge] for a long time. We could travel only some three kilometers in the last three hours.”
College teacher Abdul Goni Mia said, “My bus started for Comilla around 8:00am. After reaching the Kanchpur bridge area, it started moving very slowly. We reached Daudkandi in three and a half hours although crossing the distance normally takes just over one hour.”
The two talked to the correspondent in Meghna bridge area around 11:30am.
Vehicles moved at a snail's pace on the 70km part of the Dhaka-Tangail highway stretching from Chandra intersection of Gazipur to Bangabandhu Bridge in Sirajganj.
“I started from Dhaka around 8:00am. It took me around six hours to reach Bangabandhu Bridge, which is normally a trip of around three hours,” said Solaiman Mia who was on his way to Pabna.
Police said an accident in Kandina area of the highway around 1:00pm worsened the traffic gridlock.
At Paturia ferry terminal in Manikganj, about 1,000 vehicles were waiting in queues to cross the river around 4:00pm, reports our Manikganj correspondent.
Garment worker Jesmin Akhter was travelling to Khulna in a bus. After reaching Paturia terminal around 3:00am, the bus was stranded for 12 hours. Jesmin had no idea when she would be able to board a ferry.
“We have been suffering like this over the years. The authorities concerned repeatedly claim to have taken initiatives to ease people's suffering, but the situation has remained unchanged,” she said.
In the evening, the queues at the terminal were smaller.
Around a five-km long tailback was created at Daulatdia ferry terminal in Rajbari in the afternoon. Among the stranded vehicles at the terminal were some 100 cattle-laden trucks headed for Dhaka.
Abdus Sattar, manager (marine) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation, said ferry services were delayed due to strong currents in the Padma.
Sixteen out of the 19 ferries were in operation on Daulatdia-Paturia route yesterday afternoon. The three others were under maintenance, he added.
The Daily Star found that most of the passengers were crossing the river by overcrowded launches.
However, traffic on Dhaka-Mawa highway was almost normal.
At Kawrakandi ferry terminal of Madaripur, speedboat operators yesterday charged passengers Tk 200 each, up from the usual Tk 150, reports a correspondent from Madaripur.
Shabina Begum said she commutes to Khulna from Kawrakandi for Tk 200. But most of the buses were charging passengers Tk 500 each yesterday.
Our Pabna correspondent reports: Traffic moved slowly along the 32-km road from Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikumrul area of Sirajganj. It took vehicles around two hours to cross the distance yesterday, which is usually about half an hour's trip.
KAMALAPUR STATION
All the trains left Kamalapur yesterday carrying additional passengers. Whenever a train arrived, hundreds of passengers rushed to coaches to get in.
“I bought a ticket in advance. I need to board the train soon to make sure my seat is not taken up by another passenger,” said Shamsuzzaman.
Many passengers were seen travelling on roofs of trains defying a government ban. Railways officials asked passengers by megaphones to get down from the roofs.
SADARGHAT TERMINAL
Holidaymakers heading for southern districts thronged the launch terminal in the capital since early yesterday. Passengers were seen looking for launches at the terminal.
Tickets for cabin passengers were sold in advance. But those who travelled on decks bought tickets just before boarding vessels.
“We are facing a huge rush of passengers. The rush was even bigger in the afternoon as Eid holidays for many garment workers began today [yesterday],” said Badiuzzaman Badal, senior vice chairman of Bangladesh Inland Waterways (passenger carriers) Association.
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