When hundreds of vehicles were stuck in traffic jam in the capital’s hare road today evening, a private car with government flag stand took the wrong side of the road.

Traffic police stopped the car (Dhaka Metro- Kha- 13-2428) while it was passing Sugondha point.

The driver Rafiqul Islam seemed nonchalant while responding to the queries of the policemen. Mentioning the car was owned by a member of Public Service Commission (PSC), Rafiqul said, “Sir, asked me to go fast.”

When the policemen asked whether his “sir” asked him to take wrong side, he just gave a smile.

Later, the policemen asked him to provide car documents. He, however, sitting on the driving seat brought out the cell phone and ranged his “Sir” and approached the senior policemen present at the spot to talk with him.

Soon after a group of journalists on the spot told him to hand over the phone to talk with his “Sir”, Rafiqul disconnected the phone call.

When the drive was going on around 6.40pm, hundreds of onlookers, who were waiting in the traffic on the other side of the road, shouted loudly; “Catch him, catch him, don’t let him go.”

The driver was fined Tk 1,200 for wrong side driving.

Besides this car, Dhaka Metropolitan Police filed cases against 41 more drivers and fined them during a two-hour long special drive that started around 5.00pm to stop wrong side driving.

The vehicles includes a microbus of PDB assistant commissioner, a microbus of assistant superintendent of police of CID, a Rajuk staff bus, a private car and a microbus of two private television channels, 23 motorbikes and eight CNGs.

A car of a private television channel was also penalised. Photo: STAR/ Jamil Khan

Mosleh Uddin, additional commissioner of DMP Traffic, who was present during the drive, said the drive was underway at different traffic points since last year and an average 300 to 350 cases were filed daily for wrong side driving.

Mosleh said that they may not be able to stop the wrong side driving practice overnight but the statistics shows the tendency of wrong side driving is now decreasing.

“The drive against the practice will continue and we are hopeful that it finally will come to an end,” he added.

Earlier, DMP conducted a three day long special operation against wrong side driving starting from September 24. On the first day, police fined 57 drivers for going against traffic on Hare Road. A state minister, a lawmaker, several top bureaucrats, an army officer and journalists were among those penalised.

Vehicles of a senior and a deputy secretary of the home ministry, an additional secretary of the ministry of communications and an officer of the public administration ministry were also fined.

The driver of Secretary Mafruha Sultana of the Rural Development and Co-Operatives Division was fined for two consecutive days for travelling against traffic. Mafruha was in the car on both occasions, on Hare Road on September 24 and near Bangla Motor on September 25.

Finally on September 26, police penalised SUV of a top-ranking police officer, a joint secretary, and more than 57 motorcycle riders on Hare Road and Bijoy Sarani.

According to traffic police records, police fined 1,16,026 vehicles in the last fiscal year for travelling against traffic.