Poor management leads to traffic chaos

Negligence in duty by traffic police is to blame for haphazard movement of vehicles on streets and gridlocks at intersections in Chattogram city, according to commuters.

Traffic chaos has become a common phenomenon in a number of areas, including Lalkhan Bazar, Kazir Dewri, Jamal Khan, GEC intersection, Sholosohor Gate-2, Agrabad, Badamtoli, Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, Prabartak, and Anderkilla.

Traffic policemen are often seen doing nothing when a bus stops blocking an intersection or any vehicle ignores signals and crosses the intersection, alleged commuters.

On a Sunday morning, a traffic policeman at Chawkbazar intersection along Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah Road was found least bothered when pedestrians were crossing roads amid light and heavy vehicles plying haphazardly.

At times, traffic was crossing the intersection from all directions at once.

Trishna Bhattacharya, a schoolteacher, said she often faces difficulty in crossing the street with her five-year-old daughter. “Look at all the vehicles standing in the middle of the road. I'm afraid they might start moving as soon as I start to cross.”

“Most of the time, we see on-duty traffic police not doing anything to bring the situation under control,” she alleged.

Jahangir Alam, who regularly commutes through Tigerpass, Lalkhan Bazar and Dawanhat intersections to go to office in Agrabad from his home in Chawkbazar, said, “Minibuses often race each other to pick up passengers. But police remain indifferent and hardly take any action.”

Contacted, Traffic Sergeant Azadul Islam denied the allegation of negligence in duty.

“Rain or shine, we have to perform our duty eight hours at a stretch on the streets,” he said, adding, “Most drivers do not care for traffic rules or listen to traffic constables as they have no power to penalise them.”

A traffic sergeant can penalise drivers but sergeants are usually on patrol and cannot stay at an intersection for too long.

Contacted, Traffic Inspector (north) Subhash Chandra Dey said there was a dearth of bus stops in many areas and the drivers often stop randomly to pick up passengers.

Awareness among drivers, passengers, and pedestrians is a must to address the problem, he said.