Woes on highways

Passengers undergo acute sufferings as thousands of vehicles remain stranded on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway on Saturday. Photo: STAR

Thousands of passengers has remain stuck on Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways since Friday night due to long tailback.

The Dhaka-Chittagong highway is witnessing a 60-kilometre gridlock while it is 20-km on Dhaka-Mymensingh route and 14-km on Dhaka-Tangail highway, reported our district correspondents Saturday morning.

The back-to-back countrywide hartals for four days (from Monday to Thursday) and the rush of hundreds of people streaming out of the capital to celebrate the Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla new year, are the two main reasons of the huge traffic jams.

The seemingly never-ending traffic jam initiated on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway due to mainly heavy pressure of vehicles following back-to-back hartals (shutdown) for four days that had started from Monday.

The Dhaka-Tangail highway is experiencing the tailback due to a road accident Friday night. Later, the disorder of a truck worsened the situation.

In Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, the gridlock started due to the pressure of vehicles following back-to-back hartals.

Passengers had to suffer much without enough drinking water and food.

GAZIPUR

Gazipur is experiencing the adverse consequence of the traffic jams on Dhaka-Tangail highway as hundreds of vehicles are trapped in Chandra intersection and Mouchak Telichala areas of Kaliakoir upazila.

In Dhaka-Mymensingh highway the 20-km long queue of vehicles are seen at Vogra bypass, Station Road and Chandna areas.

Local police along with highway police are trying their best to resolve the jam, but in vain.

According to highway police officials, the traffic jam was caused by an accident between a bus and a truck at Sutrapur in Kaliakoir upazila around 11:30pm on Friday.

Though, no casualty was reported, the road was blocked for an hour that left 16-km long tailback.

Later, a police wrecker-truck removed the vehicle from the road.

Another truck became out of order on the same highway at Konabari in Sadar upazila that left another 14-km long tailback on Dhaka-Tangail route.

Zubayedul Alam, inspector of Gorai Highway Police Station (proposed), said the traffic congestion occurred as a truck became out of order and heavy pressure of vehicles.

Comilla

Passengers are suffering for a 60-km long tailback on Dhaka-Chittagong highway that started from Gozaria upazila in Munshiganj and reached Comilla Cantonment area Saturday morning.

Daudkandi Highway police officials, drivers and passengers reported that extra pressure of vehicles on the four-lane bypass highway after back-to-back hartals is the key cause of the gridlock.

The drivers of the vehicles also mounted their sufferings driving their vehicles without maintaining traffic rules.