3-lane system re-launched, jam worsens

An unending tailback on the capital's Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue last night. The city life was messed up for the entire day due to severe traffic jam yesterday. Photo: SK Enamul Haq

Traffic movement on major city roads virtually came to a halt at different points for hours yesterday greatly disrupting life.
And downpours in the morning and afternoon added to commuters' sufferings due to gridlocks.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday started re-launching the three-lane system on major roads in a bid to ease traffic jam. But instead of improving the situation, it might have created the unusual tailbacks.
Traffic congestion persisted from around 9:00am to about 5:00pm at different busy intersections including those in Mohakhali, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Malibagh, Gulistan, Moghbazar, Bijoy Sarani, Mirpur, Khilkhet, Uttara and Airport to Abdullhapur areas.
A commuter from Uttara, Md Habib, said, “It took me over two hours yesterday to reach Karwan Bazar in a city service bus from Staff Road level crossing at Banani. Usually I need at best 40 minutes to cross this distance.”
Many other commuters spoke of similar sufferings yesterday.
Driver of a city service bus, Ibrahim, said he started from Abdullahpur at 2:00pm yesterday and reached Gulistan at 4:35pm, but usually it takes around one hour.
Asked about this, some high officials of the DMP's traffic wing said there were several reasons behind yesterday's unusual gridlock for hours. But they also said the city dwellers might not have an immediate respite from such a situation with Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr nearing.
Explaining the reasons, Deputy Commissioner (traffic) Selim Mohammad Jahangir said many English medium school in the capital reopened yesterday. Besides, street vendors, rickshawpullers, workers and such other people who usually come to the capital from rural areas before and during Ramadan have started coming.
He admitted that reintroducing the three-lane system might also have worsened the situation on the first day yesterday.
Selim mentioned that they re-launched the drive dividing the DMP areas into 13 sectors, and at important intersections they compelled drivers to follow the new system.
Under the three-lane system, one lane is for private cars, microbuses and jeeps, one for minibuses, buses, covered vans and trucks and the other for CNG-run auto-rickshaws, pickup vans, motorbikes and other vehicles.
On December 8 last year, the DMP introduced the system but managed to keep it in force only for a short time.
Many of the commuters said inadequate number of traffic personnel deployed at intersections to enforce the new system causes jams instead of easing it.
Drivers of different modes of transport said since this system is enforced only at the intersections, and not all along the roads, it results in unusual traffic congestion.