Heavy rains, long tailbacks make Dhaka commuters suffer

Dhaka traffic has come to a near standstill as incessant rain, triggered by depression over the Bay of Bengal, caused heavy gridlocks throughout the capital. 

Residents of the capital – especially officer-goers and school students – are facing commute woes due to the rainfall that has no signs of stopping any time soon.

The Met Office has recorded 53mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours – from 6am on Tuesday till 6am Wednesday.

Many were seen walking along the roads in the rain due to a lack of vehicles. Rickshaws and CNG-run autorickshaws were seen charging commuters extra, taking undue advantage of the situation.

Speaking with The Business Standard, Badrul Hasan, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Police (Traffic-Uttara) of DMP, said, "The traffic situation in Uttara started to very bad since today (14 September) morning. 

"This happened due to heavy rain and various ongoing development works including the BRT project in the capital. Only Gazipur-bound vehicles were moving at a normal speed." 

However, the situation started to improve in the afternoon, said the police official.

Low-income people, including day labourers, were getting less work.

Many were forced to stay indoors due to the light to medium rains throughout the day.

Commuters faced problems in reaching their destinations due to heavy traffic triggered by the rains as well.

The number of motorized vehicles on the road was fewer compared to other working days.

Meanwhile, the Met office predicted that light to moderate rain or thundershower accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy rainfall at places over the country.