Dhaka traffic comes to standstill as sea of people join 'March for Gaza'

The massive "March for Gaza", taking place at Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan with a sea of people attending and protesting Israel's continued invasion of Palestine, has brought the city's traffic to a standstill.

Since around 3pm, various intersections have been blocked with vehicles, including buses and ambulances stuck on the roads and flyovers.

Dhaka Metropolitan Traffic Police Deputy Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam told the media that traffic in the city has become paralysed as no vehicles were able to operate in nearly a three-kilometre radius around the Suhrawardy Udyan.

He said, "In the morning, we advised commuters to use alternative routes. But eventually, even those routes became inaccessible, bringing Dhaka to a complete standstill.

"Now we're concerned about how all these people will leave once the programme ends."

Contacted about the current situation, DMP Joint Commissioner Sarwar Hossain said due to the march, vehicular movement in Ramna, Motijheel, and Tejgaon divisions was relatively slower than usual. However, traffic congestion was still reported in these areas till 5pm. Elsewhere in the capital, vehicle movement remained slow.

"Although the rally has already ended, traffic is yet to return to normal. It may take about an hour for the situation to stabilise," he added.

Photo: Jahidul Islam/TBS

Almost all political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizen Party (NCP), along with various religious and student organisations and people from all walks of life expressed solidarity with the event. As a result, since morning, Suhrawardy Udyan became packed with people due to spontaneous participation.

The adjacent areas, including Ramna Park, Matsya Bhaban, in front of the High Court, Dhaka University's (DU) Curzon Hall, Central Library, Shahbag, Kataban, and Banglamotor were seen overflowing with people. No vehicles, including rickshaws, were seen moving through these areas.

As the park and surrounding areas filled up by noon, an announcement was made from the main stage via loudspeaker, "Suhrawardy Udyan is full — please sit wherever you are." After that, processions heading toward the park stopped.

By around 2:30pm, crowds were seen in areas, including DU, Nilkhet, New Market intersection, Azimpur bus stand, Buet area, Chankharpul, Gulistan, Paltan intersection, around Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Zero Point, Fakirapool, Nayapaltan, Shantinagar, Malibagh, Mouchak, Moghbazar, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar intersection, and Science Lab.

Vehicular movement in these areas came to a halt as well.

Highlighting the commuters' sufferings, Nilima Faris, who was travelling from Malibagh to Banglamotor, said she walked the whole way as the streets were crawling with people and there was barely any movement possible.

Niloy Saha, travelling from Dhanmondi, said he had no choice but to take to his heels to reach his office from the Farmgate area to Eskaton Garden when numerous processions were going to Suhrawardy Udyan in the afternoon.