With the Eid holidays around the corner, more than one crore people are expected to travel back home to spend time with their families. Like every other year, this journey is not expected to be smooth this time either, given our inadequate transport system, dilapidated road conditions, and rising instances of highway robberies.

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Equip highway police properly

According to a 2022 survey, 1.18 crore people leave Dhaka during the last four days before Eid using road, river, and rail transport. Due to the inadequacy of trains and launches, most people travel by road in buses, private cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even autorickshaws. This year, despite the government holiday extending over nine days, the strain of road journeys is unlikely to lessen much, according to a Prothom Alo report. One reason behind this forewarning is the condition of highways, particularly the ongoing expansion work on two major routes—Dhaka-Sylhet and Tangail-Rangpur—used for travel to at least 30 districts.

Another major concern is the increase in highway robberies. Compared to last year, highway robberies during this January-February period have more than doubled. In response, the government has promised to install CCTV cameras in all bus, rail, and launch terminals and increase police presence on highways. We sincerely hope such moves will curb the threat of robberies as well as help control road rage and traffic violations.

The four-lane expansion work currently taking place between Narayanganj and Narsingdi on the Dhaka-Sylhet route has already become a nuisance for commuters due to dust, large potholes on roads, and a total disregard for traffic rules. Travel time on this route is already twice the normal, and one can only imagine what the gridlock would look like in the days before Eid. Illegal autorickshaw stands and hawkers occupying both sides of major intersections on highways are another set of problems that should be addressed for uninterrupted traffic flow.

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Make highways safe for passengers

Another major concern is the increase in highway robberies. Compared to last year, highway robberies during this January-February period have more than doubled. In response, the government has promised to install CCTV cameras in all bus, rail, and launch terminals and increase police presence on highways. We sincerely hope such moves will curb the threat of robberies as well as help control road rage and traffic violations. However, strict monitoring of vehicle overcapacity and road rules must be enforced, with increased supervision by patrol teams. This should include checking the number of trips by transport drivers and restricting the entry of slow-moving vehicles like Nasimon on highways. Such pre-emptive actions can also prevent the loss of lives. Also, temporarily halting road work several days before and after Eid may help ease gridlocks.