Traffic congestion on Gazipur highways

A heavy traffic congestion has been reported on Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways as the rush of homebound people has peaked since Thursday night.

There were long queues of vehicles at different spots on the highways until Friday morning. The traffic police were struggling to handle the pressure of vehicles.

Police and passengers said the ready-made garments factories in Gazipur went on vacation on Thursday noon and thousands of workers are returning home at a time. That is why the pressure of vehicles increased a few times on the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways.

The holidaymakers were desperate to make their way home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Some of them even hopped on cattle-laden trucks and other vehicles after failing to secure a seat in buses. The trucks also took passengers from different spots on the highway while returning home after unloading cattle in the capital.

Vehicles were moving at a slow pace in the 12-kilometer stretch from Tongi to Chandana Chowrasta (roundabout) in the morning. On the Dhaka-Tangail highway, traffic jam was created in a 10-kilometer area from Chandra, Shafipur to Kaliakair.

A huge number of passengers also gathered at the Joydebpur railway station. They also had to suffer due to seat crisis and disruption in train schedules.

Haris Uddin, a resident of Rangpur, was waiting for a bus at Chandra around 8:30am on Friday. He alleged that the shortage of buses forced many passengers like him to wait for hours at the stoppage. Some of them are hopping on trucks and pickups, risking their own life. The transport workers are also taking advantage of the situation and collecting extra fare from the helpless passengers.

Feroz Hossain, officer-in-charge of Konabari highway police, said the vehicles are moving at a slow pace on the highways. They are trying to keep the vehicular movement normal.

Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (traffic division), said there was traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at night, but it started to be normal in the morning.