Eid journey may not be hassle free
Roadside cattle markets and unfinished road expansion work, alongside closing all the garment factories on the same day, are likely to cause suffering to Eid holidaymakers, particularly the north-bound people.
Unfit vehicles breaking down and road crashes on highways, which usually see a rise during Eid rush, may intensify their sufferings.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on June 17. Highway Police identified 118 congestion-prone stops on different highways; of them, 35 lead to the north.
Meanwhile, trains heading for northern destinations are likely to be delayed due to ongoing works on the east and west sides of Bangabandhu Bridge.
The situation will worsen once pressure of passengers increases manifold following closure of offices and factories.
During an Eid preparatory meeting on May 30 at BRTA headquarters, officials said there are over 200 roadside cattle markets across the country, which often cause traffic congestion.
Besides, the speed of vehicles that carry sacrificial animals is relatively slow, which causes traffic congestion, officials told the meeting headed by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
Md Shahabuddin Khan, additional inspector general of highway police, said there are 202 cattle markets beside the highways, of which 60 are very important.
They have already talked to district police and the market authorities to keep the nearby roads congestion-free, he added.
Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan, said they are expecting a huge passenger pressure from June 13 to 15.
He said it's almost certain that the highway from Nabinagar to Chandra will see huge traffic congestion on Saturday, the day all garment factories will be closed.
A huge number of garment workers will add to the chaos, he said. Besides, many city buses will hit the streets to serve the passengers, intensifying the problem, he added.
Shahabuddin Khan said they always request garment authorities to close factories in phases but more than 80 percent of factories will close on the same day.
"This time, we have asked the factory owners, particularly BGMEA, to arrange transport at their factories so that workers can get into home-bound vehicles from there," he said.
Mosharref Hossain said the expansion work of Dhaka-Rangpur Highway from Elenga to Hatikumrul is still underway, which may cause traffic congestion, he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Waliur Rahman, project director of the road expansion works, said vehicles breaking down near Bangabandhu Bridge was the main reason behind the congestion in the last Eid rush.
At least 83 events of vehicle breakdowns, road crashes, and similar incidents took place near Bangabandhu Bridge in six days during the Eid rush, he said.
The road from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge will be used as a one-way road once the pressure of vehicles intensifies and in that case, a nearby road will be used as a bypass road for the vehicles heading for Dhaka, he added.
RAILWAYS
BR will launch its special train service from today for people who bought advance tickets since June 2.
Delays in schedules of trains connecting the capital with the north-western regions have been common over the last few years due to a lack of capacity on the single line, alongside speed and weight restrictions on the existing railway at Bangabandhu Bridge.
The situation deteriorates when the pressure of passengers intensifies before Eid day, and this situation may recur this year too.
Contacted, Asim Kumar Talukder, general manager (west) of BR, said development works are ongoing at two stations on both sides of Bangabandhu Bridge.
So, they have to operate trains through two lines instead of four lines, which causes delays of more than half an hour for every train heading for northern destinations.
At least 54 trains, including 42 intercity trains, operate between Dhaka and northern districts, showed BR documents.
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