Staff Reporter :
The roads on the eastern side of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, country’s main gateway for global connection, has now become a terrifying experience for the commuters while they pass through the area everyday.
A severe gridlock occurs at the entrance to the HSIA, causing immense sufferings to local commuters, long distance road and air travellers.
Such traffic congestions at the peak hours add to the woes of the people missing flights.
The tailback on the roads towards the Dhaka airport is the biggest headache for dwellers in the capital, its suburbs-Savar and Gazipur and for thousands of passengers of southwest, west, north and northeast regions.
The traffic congestion turns for the worst from around 9:00am to midnight on Abdullahpur, House Building, Azampur, Rajlaxmi, Jashimuddin and Airport roads as HSIA, Airport Railway Station and Headquarters of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Headquarters of Armed Police Battalion and elite force Rapid Action Battalion, office of RAB-1, Flying Club, two filing centres, restaurants and other establishments are situated on both sides of the roads. And when the works on under construction 5-Star and 4-Star hotels with a shopping arcade will be completed, the situation will be turned into a terrible one.
Visiting the airport area, this correspondent found buses, coaches, cars, microbuses and other motor vehicles caught in the gridlock for long.
The congestion that begins in the morning lasts until midnight, creating myriad difficulties for people entering and exiting the airport road and for local residents and long distance travellers.
“As there is a railway station adjacent to the airport, the gateman rings siren and brings down bars on both sides of the crossing after five to 7 minute. And it continues round the clock. As a result, a tailback is created everyday,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner (Traffic North).
Besides, she said, the roadside filling stations always deteriorate the traffic system because of the long queues of vehicles at those stations.
“On completion of the two global standard hotels, vehicular movement on the roads around those will come to a halt,” the ADC said.
In the not-too-distant future, the area will be almost unfit for traffic movement, she feared.
Apart from these, making matters worse, new buses, cars and motorbikes now add to the rising number of vehicles each day, government figures show.
Traffic movement from Abdullahpur, city’s north gateway, to Gulistan virtually comes to a halt at different strategic points for hours making public life a nightmare everyday.
A huge number of all modes of vehicles ply around 30 kilometre-long north-south corridor namely Gazipur-Mohakhali-Motijheel, Gulistan, Azimpur Saidabad and Jatrabari where buses of 67 routes run from Tongi, Abdullahpur, Uttara, Kuril and Khilkhet direction at a time.
Vehicular movement also faces severe setback while plying on around another 35 kilometre-long west-south and west corridor namely from Savar, Nabinagar and Dhaka Export Processing Zone.
This gridlock impact also spills over the entire city thoroughfares including Banani, Mohakhali, Mohakhali Flyover, Prime Minister’s Office, Bijoy Saroni, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Bangla Motor, Shahbagh Intersection, Matsya Bhaban and National Press Club.
Local residents fear vehicles plying through the city’s airport area will remain as still picture once.
“It takes me about one hour and 30 minutes to travel a short distance on Dhaka-Mymensingh Road from Tongi College gate to the airport,” Abdur Razzak, a teacher said, adding that some passengers occasionally decide to get off their buses and walk to the airport.
When contacted, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said the government has taken up a project considering that the number of passengers using the HSIA is on the rise. “The air passengers will be facilitated with special service. We are going to introduce transports for the outgoing and incoming passengers,” he said.
Replying to a query about the establishments in and around the airport road, which are responsible for traffic jam, the Minister said the Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka North Traffic Zone have been assigned to make the road clear.
“On completion of the third terminal, passenger handling capacity of the country’s major airport will increase to two crore from 80 lakh and cargo handling capacity to 5 from 2 lakh tonnes annually. So traffic situation will also become normal,” he added.
Menon said the government has taken extra security measures to ensure international airport safety at the HSIA
Currently entry of the visitors to the airport is strictly restricted. “We are in a critical situation with regard to the aviation security globally. I believe, we will surly maintain international standard security at our airports,” he affirmed.
According to the government vision, construction of the 20 km long Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), elevated expressway, flyovers and circular train is underway to reduce traffic congestion in the city.
In addition, two elevated expressways-one starting from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kutubkhali on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, and the other from Ashulia to Dhaka EPZ-are under construction.
The projects are- Dhaka Circular Route: Second Phase and Eastern Bypass, Dhaka-Narayanganj, Dhaka-Tongi and Dhaka-Mawa rail lines, Tongi-Narayanganj Subway, Mass–Rapid Transit (MRT) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Dhaka Elevated Expressway, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway, Shantinagar-Dhaka-Mawa Flyover, Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake Project and Bus Route Rationalization and Company based operation and BRT Expressway.
