Buses run wild as cops ‘look away’
Stuck at the Mirpur-10 intersection, commuters may wonder why authorities cannot solve the nagging tailback problem despite knowing the solutions.
A visit there is enough to know why people suffer daily from the gridlock: a mindless competition of buses to get more passengers.
Commuters, locals and even transport workers said that buses on this route partially block the intersection disregarding all traffic rules.
They also blamed the lack of monitoring by the traffic police department, which has its zonal office right in the middle of the intersection.
The gridlock worsens during rush hours and tailbacks go up to a quarter kilometre on all four directions the intersection connects.
"I use this road almost every day to drop off and pick up my children from their school at Mirpur 13. Usually, it takes about 15-20 minutes, if not more, to cross the intersection by car," said Mehedi Zaman, a resident of Senpara Parbata adjacent to the Mirpur-10 intersection.
Surprisingly, Rabbi and Riaz, staffers of two passenger buses that operate on the Pallabi-Jatrabari route, also blamed the unruly bus drivers.
Drivers block the road to pick up passengers, causing constant tailbacks in all directions, they said. Despite traffic police presence, officials ignore these violations for "unknown reasons, they added.
Mehedi Zaman and Abdullah Al Mamun, residents of the Senpara area, echoed them.
Drivers block the road to pick up passengers, causing constant tailbacks in all directions. Despite traffic police presence, officials ignore these violations for "unknown reasons".
During a visit to Mirpur-10 intersection, this correspondent found the busy intersection gridlock-free around 2:00pm yesterday. No buses were allowed to stop at the entry or exit points of the intersection.
The reason for this became clear a few minutes later when Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman passed through the roundabout in his official vehicle.
Traffic Inspector Bimol Saha, however, denied taking special measures for the jam-free road on that occasion.
He also denied the allegations that on-duty traffic officials are not doing enough.
Asked about random bus parking in front of the Mirpur BRTA, he said they regularly take action against those who park vehicles there.
Explaining the constant gridlock, he said thousands of commuters come to Mirpur-10 to catch buses and to avail metro rail service. Buses of 21 routes pass through the intersection.
Moreover, there is no active bus bay for picking up and dropping off passengers. Jaywalking and operation of rickshaws in the area also contribute to the gridlock, he added.
Locals also said they faced less congestion when the busy intersection was off-limit to rickshaws and rickshaw vans.
Mohammad Sagar, a driver of a bus that plies on the Pallabi-Motijheel route, refuted the allegation against bus drivers, claiming that they stop buses at the side of footpaths.
Instead, he blamed the congestion on pedestrians.
"Thousands of people cross the busy road on foot despite using the over bridge, making it difficult for vehicles to cross the intersection," he said.
Md Jashim Uddin, deputy commissioner (Traffic) of Mirpur Division, however, blamed everything except themselves for the gridlock.
"When buses, CNG, rickshaws and other vehicles get a chance, they block the exit points causing the traffic jam," he said.
"The situation has improved recently. We are taking measures," he told The Daily Star.
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