TE24 Bangladesh Desk:
On Friday, long traffic jams did not occur at the Padma Bridge tollhouse in Mawaind, but also on various highways, and the flow of returnees to Eid-ul-Azha in front of them became extreme, causing misery to passengers.
In the morning, a four-kilometer traffic jam occurred in front of the Padma Bridge toll house at the Mawa end of Louhjangu upazila in Munshiganj. Four thousand 444 vehicles are waiting in and around Dhaka to cross the Padma Bridge on the Dhaka-Mawa-Banga Expressway. Most vehicles are private cars, minibuses, pickups and trucks. There was a line of vehicles from Srinagar upazila to the toll house.
However, the traffic pressure was normal at the toll house on Keraniganj Dhaleshwari Highway. The car did not have to wait more than 3-4 minutes in this tollhouse. However, the car was seen waiting for 10 to 15 minutes at the Padma Bridge toll house. Long lines on the highway slow down the traffic.
Meanwhile, 20 km of traffic jam has been created on the eastern side of Bangabandhu Bridge on the Dhaka-Tangail highway due to road accidents and heavy vehicles.
Traffic jam has spread from the east side of Bangabandhu Bridge to Rasulpur in Sadar Ujara of Tangail. The people of the house, especially women and children, have suffered in the traffic jam. It took me two to three times to reach my destination. Bangabandhu Bridge East Police Chief Shafiqul Islam (OC) said a man was killed when a bus collided with a pickup truck near Pillar No. 18 on the west side of the bridge in the morning.
The bridge authorities had to stop collecting toll for 1 hour and 40 minutes after the accident. He said there was extra traffic pressure on the highway on Eid.
The OC said police were working hard on the highway and hoped the situation would return to normal in a day.
Traffic congestion has increased on Sirajganj highway since Thursday night. As a result, vehicles were plying from the west bank of Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikmullu Roundabout. On the other hand, like other terminals in the capital, Mohakhali is crowded with passengers but there are not enough buses compared to the number of passengers.
Thousands of passengers were seen waiting for the bus at the terminal on Friday morning but no vehicles entered. Women, children and the elderly have suffered the most due to the untimely arrival of cars. While waiting for the bus, many people were seen falling asleep with magazines and towels.
A passenger named Mozammel Haque, who was waiting for the Mymensingh-bound flight, told this correspondent that he arrived at the terminal around 5 am, but did not get a ticket by 10 am. “I won’t give tickets at the counter because there are no buses.”
Meanwhile, the pressure of returnees to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their loved ones at their village home by train has also increased. A large crowd of passengers has been seen at Kamalapur station since morning. Its manager is Mohammad Masood Sir
