Ruling alliance event makes commuters suffer
Amid scorching heat in the month of Ramadan, thousands of commuters suffered for hours due to heavy traffic congestion on major city roads since early afternoon yesterday, thanks to a ruling party event on roads.
The congestion stayed for at least three hours although the event was scheduled for about an hour beginning from 3:00pm.
Commuters including home-bound office-goers, many of who had been fasting, were seen waiting at different points for about 30 to 40 minutes to catch transports leading to their destinations while processions of Awami League (AL) and its front organisations were marching on roads.
Sudden shower in the early evening brought some respite but it also augmented the congestion, said dwellers and traffic police officials.
“I wanted to have my Iftar with family. Now it seems that I have to have it on the road,” said Sultan Nasir at Farmgate around 6:00pm while he was returning to his Agargaon home from Tejgaon.
The AL-led 14-party alliance organised human chains at 15 different city points, protesting recent “secret killings”, atrocities and subversive activities all over the country, said the party sources.
A number of commuters alleged that major roads were blocked due to the event which created traffic jams on adjacent roads and allies.
Vehicles were seen stand still for 15 to 20 minutes at Farmgate and Karwan Bazar areas while it took about an hour for those to cross the Karwan Bazar signal.
Patient-carrying ambulances were also seen stuck in the congestion, augmenting woes of patients.
Shimuli Aktar said it took over two hours for the BRTC bus she was travelling on to reach Farmgate from Gabtoli in the afternoon. She was coming from Aricha.
“Whenever I come to Dhaka I suffer in traffic jam,” she told The Daily Star.
Traffic jams were also reported from Uttara, Abdullahpur, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Gulistan, Jatiya Press Club, Asad Gate, Gabtoli and Mohakhali areas.
Many also uploaded photos and shared posts on social media describing their sufferings in traffic congestion and wanted to know updates about other roads.
“Unbelievable traffic jams in Segunbagicha. We have been stuck in one road for more than 45 minutes. Now is probably not an ideal time to head out or come in this area!!” one Sarah Rahman posted on Traffic Alert, a closed Facebook group with over 38,000 users.
Wishing anonymity, a helper of Welcome Transport said it took an extra hour for the bus to reach Farmgate from Gabtoli due to heavy traffic in Aminbazar.
Wahiduzzaman, a student, said he started on a bus from Uttara around 3:00pm and reached Farmgate at 5:45pm.
Denying that the congestion was due to the 14-party human chain, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, joint commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said he heard about congestion at Sonargaon intersection and on Bijoy Sharani and traffic police were working to ease the situation.
Sudden rain in the late afternoon and overburdened vehicles on city roads could be reasons for the evening congestion, the DMP official added.
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