Photo : Collected
Traffic gridlock has been a chronic problem in Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh.
What bothers the city dwellers most is that the incidents of long tailbacks are getting longer, turning commuting into a nightmare.
The traffic jams were a longstanding issue but it has recently taken a severe turn with police yet to return to work in full force following the downfall of Sheikh Hasina government on August 5.
Experts held disorder parking, buses stopping haphazardly for passengers, occupation of footpaths, a shortage of road space compared to the number of vehicles, unplanned urbanisation, incompetence and corruption among traffic managers, lack of systematic planning, poor enforcement of laws, and the concentration of industries and offices, responsible for the growing suffering.
City dwellers alleged that though traffic police returned to the work from their abstention, they haven’t been found active like before the fall of Awami League government.
The traffic congestion will take a serious turn if the normalcy doesn’t return to the traffic police members, they observed.
The number of vehicles including buses, private cars, CNG autorickshaws, ambulances, bicycles, and trucks—has surged, exacerbating the problem.
During the absence of the traffic police on the streets, students took it upon themselves to manage traffic. Amid the chaos thousands of unauthorized battery-operated rickshaws took to the streets from the alleys, worsening the traffic jam.
Messenger/UNB/Disha
