Delay in start, then tailbacks…

A bus was supposed to start for Satkhira around 3pm on Monday but the passengers could not find it until the evening.

And at 9am on Tuesday, that very bus was just crossing the Paturia-Doulatdia ghat (river crossing), a passenger told Prothom Alo.

Passengers on the Dhaka-Tangail complained that they could not even reach Bangabandhu Jamuna bridge seven hours after starting from Dhaka.

Many of the holidaymakers on different routes took to social media sites to express their frustration at the delay in reaching the destinations.

According to UNB, home-bound people got stuck on Dhaka-Aricha highway on Tuesday due to serious traffic chaos as a large number of vehicles left the capital for many destinations of the southern part of the country ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.

In Savar, an 81-km tailback was created on Dhaka-Aricha highway from Aminbazar to Paturia Ferry Ghat, causing immense sufferings to the holidaymakers since Monday night.

Vehicles were moving slowly on Bypail-Abdullahpur highway and Nabinagar- Chandra roads due to the heavy pressure of vehicles as thousands of people have been leaving the capital to celebrate Eid with their family members.

The duty officer at Dhaka-Aricha highway traffic police camp said a long queue of vehicles was seen on the Dhaka-Aricha and Bypail-Abdullahpur highways as the pressure of vehicles increased a day before the Eid.

The police are working to ease the traffic jam, he said.
Besides, a heavy pressure of vehicles and passengers was noticed at Shimuliya Ferry Ghat in Munshiganj till Tuesday noon.

More than 500 vehicles which left Dhaka for different destinations in the morning were waiting at the ghat.
Widespread mismanagement and chaos were seen at the ghat while ferries were unable to take excessive load for lack of navigability the river.

Khandker Shah Khaled Newaz, additional general manager (AGM) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said ferry drivers were facing a hard time due to the poor navigability of the river and excessive pressure of motor-bikes and passengers.

Newaz said at least 16 ferries were running on the Shimulia-Kathalbari river route and they were trying to manage minimise the problem.