Cars on the walkways
Cars on the walkways
Illegal parking on the streets of Dhaka and driving on the wrong sides are phenomena the city dwellers have been facing for long and, hence, are quite accustomed to. Now they are faced with a new trend: parking on the walkway.
In a short tour of Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue yesterday afternoon, The Daily Star found that more than 20 vehicles were parked on the footpath from Farmgate to Saarc Fountain in just 20 minutes, forcing pedestrians to undergo great difficulties in walking by the VIP road that was visibly crammed with hundreds of vehicles.
Not only common shoppers, but also government high-ups, journalists and even law enforcers are found to be breaking the law.
"Now that they have occupied the only walking space for pedestrians, how do we possibly walk?" a middle-aged man in T-shirt reacted.
"We have no option but to walk on the main road," he added.
A few weeks ago, tow trucks were parked on the major thoroughfares in the capital in a step to ease traffic congestion. But with time they have gone off the roads.
While contacted, drivers and few owners of illegally parked vehicles admitted to their wrongdoings.
But they had no answer when asked why they parked at a wrong place.
Law enforcers working on the roads, on the other hand, were not willing to talk to The Daily Star.
Mere witness to the illegal act, an Ansar member said he was not authorised to say anything regarding cars. "I can only manage rickshaws and vans."
"Talk with our higher officials," a traffic official on duty at Farmgate said, without giving his name, when asked about the absence of any action against such vehicles.