Political programmes throw Dhaka traffic into chaos, cause public suffering

Commuters in the capital suffered a great deal of stress and anxiety on Tuesday with severe traffic congestion and chaos choking some parts of the city due mainly to the BNP's road march and ruling Awami League's development march programmes.

As the BNP's march, attended by thousands of party leaders and activists, made its way from the city's Gabtoli to Old Dhaka's Ray Shaheb Bazar, it created a chaotic situation on different important roads of Dhaka, leaving daily commuters in the lurch. 

Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in Awami League's development processions held on Tuesday afternoon.

The procession started at the premises of the Institute of Engineers Bangladesh and ended at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi 32 via Shahbagh intersection, Elephant Road and City College.

Traffic congestion is a common phenomenon in Dhaka but it intensifies manyfold during any political activities carried out on the roads. 

Tuesday's showdown by two major political parties in the country did nothing but worsen the usual suffering of people.

Amid scorching heat, a 40-year-old burqa-clad woman, holding her minor daughter in one hand and two heavy baggage in the other, was seen trying to manoeuvre through a packed crowd near the Moghbazar intersection.

It was around 3:45 pm and thousands of BNP activists and leaders by then occupied the road from Moghbazar to Mowchak. 

The mother and daughter who came to Dhaka from a southern district were on their way to their relative's home. Failing to get on a rickshaw, they were seen walking from Moghbazar to the Malibagh intersection. 

When The Business Standard asked the woman about her destination, she refused to reveal it. When asked about her feelings about the political programme and the suffering it created for the public, she said, "I have nothing to say. What difference does it make if I tell the media about my sorrow? It is our fate to suffer."

It is not only the mother-daughter duo alone, hordes of people – from Gabtoli to Jatrabari – had to suffer the heat of the political showdown of the two major parties on Dhaka roads. 

A rickshaw puller Shafiq at the Kakrial area told TBS, "On a normal day, I make Tk800-1000. But due to the programmes of both parties, people hardly did ride on rickshaws. Do not get me wrong. I am glad that politics are back on the road but people like me who make a living on the road have to pay the price."

Meanwhile, a clash between BNP men and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) took place in front of Bangla College, causing a total halt in traffic movement in that area for half an hour.

The BNP's Dhaka North unit march had a stopover at Moghbazar where the party's Dhaka South leaders and activists were supposed to join them.

"I left Gulshan for Press Club at 9 am. Now it's almost 12 pm and I am still stuck at the Mogbazar intersection," said actor Priyo Moni.

Mohammad Daud, a bus helper, said his bus was stuck in the Mogbazar signal for an hour.

Helper of an Ajmeri Glory bus Mohammad Turag said the bus runs from Gazipur's Chandina to Dhaka's Sadarghat twice a day. "But we will not go for the second trip today."

"It is not wise to do marches blocking the roads. We incur financial loss and our passengers also suffer," he said.

"The traffic from BCS Computer City, Agargaon to Bijoy Sarani signal was slower than usual till afternoon," Assistant Commissioner of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar traffic zone Tareq Sekandar Ovi told The Business Standard.

Amid the political chaos, traffic towards Mirpur 10 to 11 was stalled for hours since the morning after hundreds of people who claimed to be deceived by a multipurpose company took to the roads demanding their money back.

"Hundreds of people started gathering at Mirpur 11 Metro station area from 10 am," Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Pallabi Zone Assistant Commissioner Shahidul Islam said.

Congestion on the Dhaka-Aricha highway

The gathering of BNP and its affiliates' leaders and activists in Gabtoli to join the BNP march caused severe traffic congestion at the Aminbazar entrance of the capital.

There was a two-kilometre-long tailback from Salehpur Bridge to Gabtoli on the Dhaka-Aricha highway at 11 am.

Kamruzzaman Khan, a senior reporter of Bhorer Kagoj, said he was stuck at Salehpur bridge for about an hour after leaving Savar for the National Press Club due to slow traffic.

Many Dhaka-bound passengers were seen getting off their buses and walking to their destinations.