Dhaka wears deserted look with no traffic jams in streets

The over-populated capital Dhaka wore a deserted look with no traffic jams in the streets today (1 April) due to Eid holidays.    

Widely well-known as the 'city of crowds and sound pollution' Dhaka experienced no hustle and bustle of people, the hawkers' shouts and the whistles of mechanical vehicles and no more traffic congestion today, the third day of Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.   

Due to the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of major religious festivals of country's Muslim community, thousands of people left the capital to celebrate the occasion with their near and dear ones in their respective village homes.

However, the movement of vehicles has increased slightly on the third day today of the nine-day long vacation.

Although the movements of vehicles are gradually on the rise, there were fewer passengers in public transports, claimed the transport workers.

Visiting different city spots, including Khilgaon, Rampura, Motijheel, Paltan, Shantinagar, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Bangla Motor, Shahbagh and Matsya Bhaban areas in the capital, this correspondent found that many intersections were almost empty though the number of vehicles has increased slightly compared to Eid day yesterday.

Due to the shortage of passengers, buses were seen waiting at different points for some time. Staffers of the buses and four-wheeler Lagunas and CNG-run auto-rickshaws were seen calling out for passengers for a long time.

Along with this, rickshaws, battery-operated rickshaws, CNG-operated auto-rickshaws, private cars and motorcycles were seen plying on the bare roads.

Talking to Laguna driver Abul Hashem of Khilgaon Jorpukur here, he said, "It takes more than an hour to fill a car. Earlier they got adequate number of passengers within 10 to 20 minutes. As a result, we have to face a lot of losses."

He added, "Even if we take Tk5 more as an Eid tip (bakshish) from a passenger, this loss cannot be compensated.  But still, we have to drive helplessly."

In Shantinagar, a shop employee Mostafizur Rahman, who was on the way to visit his sister's house in Gazipur by a bus of the Ajmeri Glory Paribahan, told BSS that he took a bus from Victoria Park in Old Dhaka and reached Shantinagar in just a few minutes because the streets are free from traffic jams this noon.

But at other times it would have taken an hour to travel this distance, he said. Besides, there were empty seats due to lack of passengers.

Samiul, who used to come from Gabtoli daily, said there was no traffic jam anywhere on the road, but the buses stopped at all the stands for passengers. They also charged Taka five more for each passenger.

The helper of this bus told Sohel that they were taking some extra money from the passengers to cover the cost due to passenger shortage.

He said, "I have to roam the streets with an empty car. I am not getting any passengers. I am not taking extra money from anyone. I am taking whatever they give me as Eid bakshish."

Meanwhile, police officer Santosh, working at the Paltan Police Box, here told BSS that the city streets are mostly empty today. Yesterday it was completely empty.

"However, some vehicles are seen plying on the streets today. There is no traffic jam anywhere. Today I am on duty in a relaxed mood," the police officer mentioned.

There is no noise pollution or honking of vehicles. There is also comparatively less dust on the roads today, Santosh added.

He said, although the roads are empty, due to the strict surveillance of the law enforcement agencies, the tendency of robbery or other criminal activities on the roads is much less than other times.

"We are working hard to ensure safety of people's vehicles and so that people can celebrate Eid without any problems," the police officer said.