Thousands stranded on Dhaka-Aricha Highway as tailback stretches 7km amid BNP rally

Traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway due to a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rally in Gabtali brought suffering for many today.

Stretching 7-kilometre from Savar's Hemayetpur to Gabtali, many remained stuck.

Residents of the Hemayetpur area said the traffic jam was created on the Dhaka-facing lane of the highway after 2:30pm. However, there was no traffic jam in the Aricha-bound lane of the highway.

"I have been stuck in the Hemayetpur area since 3pm. I could not even cross half a kilometre in an hour and a half," said Enamul Haque, who along with his sick wife started for Square Hospital in Dhaka at 2:30pm from Savar.

Rahim, a long-haul passenger bus driver from Naogaon to Dhaka, told The Business Standard (TBS), "The jam started from Hemayetpur stand, we could make little progress in two hours. Many passengers got off the bus and headed towards Dhaka on foot."

A student named Sadia said, "I was sitting in the bus for an hour, now I have started walking, let's see how far I can go on foot."

Dhaka District North Traffic Police Inspector (Administration) Hossain Shahid Chowdhury told TBS, "Our people are working on the road. The vehicles are moving albeit slowly."

Officer-in-charge of Savar Highway police station Sheikh Abul Hasan told TBS he was unaware of any such jam yet and is investigating the situation.

Traffic conditions on the highway remained unchanged as of writing this report around 6:00pm.