The first few days of the Eid journey were almost hassle-free. However, it disappeared as the pressure of homebound people increased.
In addition to traffic congestion, the northbound people on the Dhaka-Tangail highway suffered immensely due to dust. Long traffic congestion was also seen at the toll plaza of the Padma Bridge. Meanwhile, the passengers were seen waiting for hours at Mohakhali for buses.
People started leaving the city to spend the Eid holidays with families and relatives from Thursday. Eid holidays started from Tuesday in the garment factories in Dhaka and suburbs. So the pressure of passengers started rising from Monday night. Many offices are closing today, Tuesday. So there will be a pressure of homebound passengers today as well.
Private firm employee Irfan Aziz had his bus at 10:45 pm, but his bus left for Rangpur at 1:00 am. This correspondent spoke to Irfan Aziz at around 12:00 pm. He was entering Bogura from Sirajganj.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “It was almost morning by the time he left Chandra. I reached Tangail at around 9:00 am. I am now entering Bogura. It will take several more hours to reach Rangpur. In addition to the traffic congestion, we are also suffering immensely due to the dust on the road. I am quite disappointed. I expected that I would be able to go home without any hassle believing the words from several reliable persons of the government.”
On 6 April, the road transport and bridges minister inaugurated a rail overpass, seven road overpasses and two bridges to make the Eid journey of the northbound people hassle free. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Obaidul Quader said, “The Eid journey this time will be smooth. There will be no traffic congestion despite the excessive pressure of vehicles on the road.”
However, the reality is quite the opposite. Many have posted on social media Facebook sharing their ordeals during their journey towards the northern parts of the country.
A passenger named Shamsul Haque wrote in a Facebook post at around 11:00 pm, “Just reached the Bangabandhu Bridge after starting from Shyamoli at 10:30 pm. Not sure when I will reach Thakurgaon.”
The northbound passengers are saying vehicles are moving outside the roads in several areas of Kalihati upazila, including Salla, Bangabandhu Bridge East railway station, Hatiya, Bhabla and Elenga. As a result the entire highway is being covered in dust. Many were seen covering their face with clothes to avoid dust. However, most of the passengers are suffering as they don’t have any preparations to save themselves from dust.
Shahriar Hasan got on the bus for Bogura at 9:00 pm Monday and reached Bogura at 12:00 pm Tuesday.
Shahriar said there was heavy traffic on both sides of the Bangabandhu Bridge. During Eid, it takes 15 hours to reach a distance that takes 5 hours in normal time. Probably there is no respite from it for the people of the north, he said.
The Gazipur correspondent of Prothom Alo said there was heavy traffic all night at several places on the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways. There were long traffic congestions on all the three roads from Chandra intersection.
Pressure on southern roads
The pressure vehicle has also increased on the roads towards the southern part of the country. As a result, there were long queues of vehicles at the Padma Bridge toll plaza, in particular on the lane for motorcycles.
The Munshiganj correspondent of Prothom Alo said apart from the other vehicles, there has been a surge of motorcycle-riders on the Padma Bridge. Besides, the pressure of personal vehicles also increased in the Padma Bridge area.
The bridge authorities are collecting tolls from seven booths at the toll plaza on the Mawa end. Besides, a separate lane has been introduced for the movement of motorcycles.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Hansara highway police station officer-in-charge (OC) Kanchan Kumar Sinha said there was heavy traffic on the highway early this morning. The highway police have deployed separate teams to control traffic congestion during the Eid journeys this year.
Meanwhile at the Mohakhali inter-district bus terminal, the homebound people are suffering due to the bus crisis. The buses are not on time. Passengers were seen waiting for hours for their bus. The scenario was the same at the Sayedabad bus terminal also.
People relevant to the transport sector say the buses which left Dhaka couldn’t return on time due to traffic congestion on the road as a result there is a crisis of coaches at the moment.
A survey conducted by professor Md Hadiuzzaman of the civil engineering department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) shows that around 12 million people leave Dhaka in the last four days prior to the Eid day. As such some 3 million people leave Dhaka every day prior to Eid. However, we have the capacity to carry 2.2 million people every day at most.
‘Waiting for two hours’
Meanwhile many of the homebound people are taking pick-ups and auto-rickshaws to go home after failing to get bus tickets. Taking advantage of the situation, many are charging extra.
There were hundreds of homebound people at the Chandra intersection of Gazipur and adjacent areas in the Kaliakair upazila, Chandna and Bhogra at around 11:00 am.
Md Alvi Rahman, a resident of the Nandail area in Mymensingh, “I heard there was immense traffic on the roads yesterday. So I got out today. However, the situation hasn’t improved. There are no vacant seats on the buses. They are not taking standing passengers either. I have been waiting for two hours here. If I don’t get anything, then I will have to take a truck to get home.”
*This report appeared on the online version of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu