Heavy rush, slow traffic

Traffic went haywire on some highways yesterday due to a huge rush of passengers, causing sufferings to the holidaymakers going home to celebrate this Eid with their loved ones.

Till afternoon, people boarded buses and left the capital without facing much trouble at the exit points. But an agonising ride awaited them on the highways.

Bus journeys to most of the northern districts took at least two to three hours more than the usual time due to long tailbacks on both sides of the Bangabandhu bridge.

Those heading for the south-eastern districts through the Dhaka-Chittagong highway also faced trouble near the Meghna bridge. They got stuck there for a long time with transport operators blaming it on the massive pressure of traffic.

The buses heading for the terminals in the capital to pick passengers also ran behind schedule due to the gridlock.

Despite a huge rush of homebound people, journeys by train and launch were fairly smooth as most of them left the Kamalapur Railway Station and the Sadarghat terminal on time.

However, a large number of people were seen travelling on the rooftops of the already overcrowded trains and launches, risking their lives.

The two ferry terminals -- Paturia in Manikganj and Shimulia in Munshiganj -- also saw an increased number of passengers and vehicles. The queues of vehicles waiting to cross the Padma river only got bigger with time.

There was no report of major tailbacks there.

Meanwhile, the hustling bustling metropolis of Dhaka looked a little different yesterday as a large number of people have already left for home. The city is expected to show signs of tranquillity in the coming days.

A five-day Eid holiday began yesterday and the bus terminals at Gabtoli, Sayedabad and Mohakhali,  Kamalapur Railway Station and Sadarghat launch terminal were buzzing with people.

Talking to The Daily Star, several holidaymakers expressed their unhappiness as   many long-route buses failed to reach the terminals on time. 

“My little son has become restless at home. He is calling me repeatedly over the phone and asking me to board the bus that would leave first,” Faruk Hossain, a service holder who was going to Faridpur, told The Daily Star at the Gabtoli terminal.

“My bus was supposed leave at 12:15pm but it is already an hour late,” he said.

Mujibur Rahman, a counter manager of Golden Line, a private bus operator, said their buses were not being able to reach the terminal on time due to heavy pressure of traffic on the highways.

Those who bought bus tickets yesterday alleged they were being charged high.

HIGHWAYS

Thousands of home-goers heading for the northern districts faced untold sufferings as they remained stuck in tailbacks for hours at both ends of the Bangabandhu bridge yesterday.

The tailbacks stretched from the west end of the bridge to Sirajganj-Hatikumrul Intersection and from the east side of the bridge to Rabna bypass, reports our Tangail correspondent.

According to the traffic control room of the Bangabandhu bridge, the heavy pressure of vehicles and worn-out condition of the highway were to blame for the tailback which began in Tangail's Elenga area around 10:30am.

However, drivers and passengers blamed the toll plaza for the gridlock. They said the booths were taking time to collect the tolls, creating the gridlock.

On the other side of the bridge, there was another long tailback up to the Sirajganj-Hatikumrul intersection.

People of 16 northern districts go home through this intersection.

Arif Miah, a passenger of a Bogra-bound bus, alleged that no law enforcer was working there to ease the traffic situation.

Mohammad Daud, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bangabandhu Bridge West Police Station, however, said they were struggling to control the situation as the traffic pressure was too high.

Golam Zilani, OC of Hatikumrul Police Station, echoed Daud's views.

Julhas Miah, driver of a Sirajganj-bound bus, said goods-laden trucks were not supposed to ply the highways from three days before the Eid. But, they are still on the highways. On many occasions, many truck drivers violate traffic rules, leading to traffic gridlock.

The picture on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was similar.

Like on Thursday, a 13km-long traffic congestion was created from Meghna bridge to Baushia in Munshiganj's Gazaria yesterday morning.

The highway has been upgraded to a four lane one but it abruptly narrows down to two lanes right before the bridge, creating a bottleneck, said OC Hedayetul Islam Bhuiyan of Gazaria Police Station.

"The problem will not be solved until a new bridge is built," he said.

FERRY

There has been a huge pressure of vehicles and passengers at the Paturia ferry terminal since yesterday noon.

Zillur Rahman, assistant general manager (commerce) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said 18 ferries were operating on the Daulatdia-Paturia route.

Three launches were fined for not having adequate life-saving equipment on them, said BIWTC sources.

TRAIN

Like on Thursday, most of the trains left the Kamalapur Railway Station on time.

However, many people were seen travelling on the rooftop.

Rangpur-bound Rangpur Express was delayed by an hour, Chapainawabganj-bound Rajshahi Express by one hour and 40 minutes and Mymensingh-bound Isakhan Express was delayed by 40 minutes.

Some 27 trains left the station till 3:00pm and only one of them was late because of technical glitch, Railways Minister Mazibul Hoque told reporters after visiting the station.

"We've talked to passengers of different routes. They are satisfied with the timely services,” he said.

But, Sheikh Farhan, a private university student who was heading for Rajshahi, said, “I got the ticket but had to wait as my train was around two hours late.”

LAUNCH

Holidaymakers streamed the Sadarghat terminal since the early hours of yesterday. About 67 launches left for their destination till 6:00pm, said Gulzar Ali, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

Some launches were seen carrying passengers on the rooftop although there were mobile courts to monitor the matter.

Many of those travelling on the roofs said they had no other option as the launches were already overcrowded.