Business Desk :
Traffic congestion in Dhaka’s Tongi alone is causing financial losses of Tk 10 crore per day, including waste of fuel by idling vehicles, according to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
Such suffering can be alleviated for Eid home-goers if ongoing road construction and repairs can be put on hold for 14 days starting April 27 centring the celebration, suggested the country’s apex trade organisation.
The recommendation came at the first meeting of an FBCCI Standing Committee on Transport and Communications on its premises yesterday.
Roadworks slow down traffic and create long tailbacks, said FBCCI Senior Vice-President Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, calling for highway police to be deployed at congestion-prone zones.
He said Bangladesh Police should be strict in preventing extortion on the roads and the FBCCI would send a letter to the home affairs minister and inspector general of police in this regard.
He also called for using more ferries and trips at Mawa and Aricha ferry ghat to prevent long tailbacks of buses and trucks.
Law enforcers illegally collect money every night at Joykali Mandir and Ittefaq intersection in the capital, alleged Ramesh Chandra Ghosh, president of Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association and the committee chairman The public transport sector was affected the most amidst the pandemic, he said, calling for policy protection for the next three years.
