7-hr curfew break: Gridlock returns to Dhaka streets

Traffic congestions in different parts of Dhaka meant the capital returned to its usual self yesterday after almost a week of  violence, along with curfew and a three-day general holiday.

City dwellers thronged banks, government and private offices to complete pending tasks during the seven-hour curfew break window.

However, they faced immense sufferings due to traffic jams at different points, as numerous vehicles hit the streets at once.

The suspension of metro rail and elevated expressway operations since Thursday, following large-scale damages during recent violence, added to the sufferings.

A shortage of public transport, particularly buses, forced commuters to wait for hours or walk miles to reach their destinations.

Long queues were observed at banks, while people rushed to government and other offices, which were open for four hours from 11:00am.

Major thoroughfares, including Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Mirpur Road, Airport Road, and Begum Rokeya Sarani, as well as key intersections like Mohakhali, Banani, Shahbagh, Tejgaon, Gulshan, and Kalyanpur, were crammed with vehicles.

Polas Miah, a resident of Mirpur-12, who usually commutes to his office in Dilkusha via metro rail daily, said he spent more than three hours on the road by bus for what used to be a 30-minute journey on the metro rail.

"The metro rail made our lives very easy, but its suspension has put us in serious trouble again," he said.

Anwara Begum's ordeal was different. She not only waited on the road for hours but also had to walk miles due to severe traffic congestion.

"It took four and a half hours to reach the court area in Old Dhaka from Kalyanpur due to severe traffic congestion at different points," she said.

Anwara left her CNG-run three-wheeler at Shahbagh after being stuck for half an hour and then walked to Gulistan, from where she hired a rickshaw to reach her destination.

Jhilan, a driver of a CNG-run three-wheeler, earned Tk 1,000 by yesterday evening despite starting his day at 8:00am due to traffic congestion in Uttara and Gulistan.

"I left Uttara with passengers at 8:00am and reached Gulistan at 11:00am. I have to pay Tk 1,200 to the owner and need Tk 300 more for gas, but I could earn only Tk 1,000," he said.

Masudul Mazid, an official at a buying office in Baridhara, had to change two modes of transport to reach his destination.

"I walked from Dhanmondi to Farmgate as I couldn't find a three-wheeler in Dhanmondi. The situation at Farmgate was worse, and after waiting for an hour, I found a Cantonment-bound bus and hired a bike from there to reach my destination," he said.