Tangail turning into a town of serious traffic jam

Important roads in Tangail town often see serious traffic jam, much to the suffering of the passengers and pedestrians. The photo was taken from Victoria Road a couple of days ago.Photo: STAR

Important roads in the district town, especially those leading to New Bus Terminal and Old Bus Terminal areas, often see serious traffic jam, much to the sufferings of the passengers and pedestrians.
Vehicles going to important offices including those under civil and police administrations and courts from northern Tangail face long tailbacks in New Bus Terminal area as different types of vehicles like buses, trucks, three-wheelers, rickshaws and motorcycles use the same road.
Lack sufficient space for turning vehicles adds to the situation.
Vehicular movement from capital Dhaka to the northern districts through Tangail town saw an overwhelming rise after construction of Bangabandhu Bridge on the Jamuna River in 1998.
The town bypass was constructed to facilitate movement of such vehicles but long route passenger buses often move through the main town and stop at places to take passengers and let others get down, adding to the traffic jam, said locals.
Around six thousand CNG-run auto-rickshaws (three-wheelers) ply the streets in the town against one thousand approved ones.
Battery-run three-wheelers started plying the town roads two years ago, making the situation all the more complicated, sources at the Traffic Police Office said, adding that now there are over 3,000 battery-run three-wheelers in the town and they park and move without caring for any discipline,
Most of the important roads in the town do not have separate walkways while a few ones mostly remain under the occupation of vendors.
A good number of high-rise buildings and big markets have been constructed in the town during the last few years.
Although most of these buildings have parking spaces, these are often used for other purposes while the vehicles are parked on the adjacent roads, causing problem to vehicular movement.
Buses frequently take turning in New Bus Terminal area and it often causes vehicles to get stuck on two sides of the road, said Sohel Miah, driver of a battery-run auto-rickshaw.
"The number of cars and auto-rickshaws plying the town is too high for the existing roads. Most of the auto-rickshaw drivers hardly care about traffic rules. They take passengers and let them get down here and there and often take turning on the roads,” he added.
Bus driver Goutam Bhoumik said arrangement of separate roads for plying of large vehicles like buses and trucks and small vehicles like three-wheelers and rickshaws can help reduce traffic jam in the town.
Rafiqul Islam, traffic inspector in Tangail, said, "Arrangement of separate parking spaces for three-wheelers and keeping their number and movement under control can help ease traffic jam. Besides, the parking spaces of the high-rise buildings and markets should be used properly.”