Staff Reporter :
City commuters are undergoing unbearable sufferings due to the bumper-to-bumper traffic gridlock in almost all the thoroughfares of the capital over the last couple of days.
The commuters expressed their deep frustrations as gridlock is consuming much of their valuable times in the streets before reaching the destinations like offices, business houses, and educational institutions.
People on Tuesday experienced unbearable traffic jam in different city streets from Uttara to Mahakhali, Banani to Karwan Bazar, Gabtoli to Farm Gate since morning.
The gridlock was also witnessed in other streets from Mohakhali to Sat Rasta, Bangla Motor to Shahbag, National Press Club to Matijheel.
The commuters said that the public transports were moving at a snail’s pace due to traffic snarl and 10-minute distance was taking one hour or more.
The traffic congestion forced the commuters to leave their transports to walk to their destinations under the scorching heat of the day. Concerned authorities said that the sudden rush of people in the streets after the opening of all educational institutions especially the students of pre-primary and primary started going to their educational institutions.
Following the government’s announcement all the educational institutions are now open and in-person classroom teachings have been started on Tuesday after two years of severe pandemic in the country.
“The opening of primary and pre-primary schools leads the kids and their guardians to come out of their residences. This sudden rush of people worsened the traffic system,” Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Commission Munibur Rahman told the New Nation on Tuesday.
He further said that the absence of sufficient parking lots in the capital force the people to park wherever they get any space without considering the traffic system.
“As all the offices and educational institutions are open now, people park their vehicles here and there. It congested the road space leading to traffic jam,” he added.
He hopes that this situation will be normal within a few days, but he articulated that all-out cooperation would be needed to ease this situation.
City planners over the times said the severe traffic gridlock has become a perennial problem in the capital though many efforts such as constructions of flyovers, diversions of traffics have been taken but very little has been achieved.
Even a mega project like metro rail system has also been undertaken to ease the traffic congestion.
Concerned authorities have many a time realised that the traffic gridlock should be reduced as it contributes to the loss of huge amount of money, time and energy.
