PEOPLE started to leave the city en masse while almost the entire nation is on move to celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha which is still two days from now on Friday. People are joining the stream to join the family members staggering all over the country in towns, cities and villages. This is the second largest religious festival for the Muslims and it offers them the opportunity to unite with their families back at home. As it appears, they are going by roads and highways. Trains are running with over capacity although only a handful of people got tickets as against the large crowd, which flooded at the Kamalapur Railway Station in the city over the past week and at many such places to buy tickets.
River vessels are making sorties with passengers particularly for the Southwestern districts overcrowding the decks and overnight. What is worrying is that launch owners don’t bother passengers’ safety as they look for extra earning loading faulty vessels with huge crowd that often end in drowning and death of passengers. We hope that the BIWTA authorities would keep the watchful eyes on errant owners and operators so that the nation can avoid tragedies of the past. They would also properly manage the ferry ghats to avoid fatal accidents.
Long traffic congestion on roads and highways, mainly to northern districts is making the Eid goers home journey critically risky and hazardous in rains which is over pouring throughout the country over the past several days. As it appears muddy dilapidated roads, narrow highways and transport, such as buses carrying passengers with faulty fitness are adding risks to passengers’ safety. Many are going on their own transports. It is a matter of complaisant that so far no major untoward incident was reported and we hope that all passengers will reach home safely and get back safe to their work- place again. Many of them bought tickets even at twice the normal price; they are non-stoppable at any risk to join the families.
Most highways are facing additional traffic clog this time as scores of cattle carrying trucks are entering the capital to supply animals to city markets; which have been set up temporarily and go to the northeast. What is worrying is that a 40 km long queue has blocked the movement of traffic on Dhaka-Tangail highway leading towards the north. Long traffic queue is reported at Paturiaghat; which carry passengers to Faridpur and onwards. Serious traffic jam is also reported on Dhaka-Aricha- Ashulia-Savar section of the highway outside the capital although traffic movement was not critically handicapped on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet highways.
It appears that the highways are very risky in rains and vigilance of police, specially the role of the Highway Police is important to break the traffic jam and clear way for transports to move towards their destinations. They must also demand compliance of discipline from bus drivers who often drive fast or pass sleepless night to earn more. Only a small mistake may cost so many lives and people hope that concerned authorities would make every effort to make the home-goers journey safe.
