The homebound rush for the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays has once again left roads, highways and waterways leading outside Dhaka in a tangle, but the exits from the capital are yet to become completely gridlocked.
According to recent research by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), around three million people will leave Dhaka in each of the four days until Eid, putting intense stress on the entire travel network.
Our Tangail correspondent reported that traffic slowed to a crawl on a 15km stretch of the Dhaka-Tangail Highway as the homebound rush began to pick up on Friday. Although road movement was slow, it was not quite at a complete standstill.
Mozammel Haque, a bus driver at Tisha Paribahan, told our Comilla correspondent: "In previous years, I used to make just one trip a day from Comilla to Dhaka due to the traffic. However I arrived in Comilla in a few hours [on Friday]."
Ayesha Akhter, a passenger on the bus, said: “Traffic is slow on the road, but there is no tailback.”
Daudkandi Highway police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Zahirul Islam said the vehicles were moving slowly due to the pressure of vehicles, but they were doing their best to keep traffic flowing. No additional problems had been reported.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the traffic situation on the country’s highways ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr was better this year than ever before.
His made the remark while speaking to the media during a visit to the Gabtoli Bus Terminal in Dhaka.
“I believe there will be no problem in Gazipur this year as we have opened three flyovers to traffic,” said Quader.
The minister also said that they had overcome the crisis on the highway to the northern region. “A major problem was the Nalka area, but with the newly-built bridge there open to traffic, we hope that there will be no gridlock.”
A similar situation to the roads was seen on waterways out of the capital. There were large crowds of waiting passengers at ferry terminals, but the wait was not as long as in previous years.
Passengers crossing the Padma River on the Mawa-Shimulia route faced traffic jams, but those who used the Paturia-Daulatdia route did not face much trouble. The number of cars and microbuses increased as time passed at Paturia and Daulatdia ferry terminals on Friday, but there was no increased pressure caused by vacationers, according to our Rajbari correspondent.
Around 11,300 vehicles were ferried across the river in the last 24 hours, said a Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation official.
Meanwhile, every ferry coming from the Paturia terminal was packed to the brim with homebound people. After getting off their ferries, they were seen heading home from the terminal via the Dhaka-Khulna Highway on their bikes or in cars without much hassle.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Friday requested passengers to take Paturia route in Manikganj instead of Shimulia to cross the Padma during Eid journey, as fewer ferries are in service at Shimulia.
There are 10 ferries operating at Shimulia of Munshiganj, 21 in Paturia of Manikganj, and four in Aricha. In the morning there is extra pressure on passengers and vehicles in Shimulia terminal, said the state minister while inspecting the Shimulia launch and ferry terminal at Munshiganj.
Kamalapur Railway Station was teeming with people on Friday, the third day of Eid trips home with advance train tickets. All trains except the Nilsagor Express, Sundarban Express and Rangpur Express left the station on time. Every train was packed to the brim with vacationers, with thousands of standing passengers.
Some 53,000 passengers will leave Dhaka by train every day ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, according to Bangladesh Railway. Outside of Dhaka, the Eid travel rush was in full flow at the Barisal ferry terminal as hundreds of people began travelling to their hometowns.
On the Bhola-Lakshmipur route, some passengers were forced to use the trawlers due to a crisis of launches, Ilisha River Police Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Shahjalal told our correspondent.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
