- Suffer from traffic jams even during Ramadan
- Passengers have to sit for hours
- Govt agencies failed to solve traffic jam
- DMP initiatives not working
- Suffering not reducing even in mega projects
- Congestion not decrease if standard public transport not started
Dr. Adil Mohammed Khan, Urban Planner
Traffic congestion is a daily occurrence in the capital, but its intensity has taken a dire shape during Ramadan. Every day the intensity of traffic starts before noon. Its level started to increase in the afternoon. Passengers have to sit in the vehicles for hours. Due to heat on one hand and traffic jams on the other hand, the city dwellers are getting tired after Ramadan. Common people cannot reach their destination on time even if they want to. By doing this, I have to sit in the car in the scorching heat after Ramadan.
These homebound people are suffering from not being able to reach their destination at the specified time. As a result, many people have to eat iftar in the car. Government agencies are failing to take various initiatives to relieve the suffering of traffic jams. However, experts are blaming the hand signal traffic system for this. Because they think that this problem will never be solved if the traffic system is not implemented properly. Sadiqur Rahman was on his way home from the office to break the iftar last Friday. But he got stuck in heavy traffic after some distance. Even if he reached home on time the other day, it was time for iftar in the vehicle. Forced to get out of the vehicle and bring something to break the iftar. He was saying the words with a lot of regret. If this traffic jam in Dhaka is not reduced, the suffering of the people will not end at all, said Sadikur. Not only Sadiqur Rahman, but many passengers like him are constantly breaking the iftar in the vehicle. With the increase of Ramadan, the amount of traffic is also increasing. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) initiative to prevent the severity of traffic jams during Ramadan is not working. Especially after 3 pm till iftar, the roads of Dhaka are coming to a standstill. The traffic jam that started at noon continued to increase as time progressed. The city dwellers have to suffer from traffic jams till iftar.
The surface area was seen yesterday, Vijay Sarani Mor, Dhanmondi 27 and 32, Sainslab Mor, New Market, Neelkhet, Shahbagh, Farmgate, Gulistan, Paltan Mor, Banglamotor, Azimpur, Kamrangirchar, Mogbazar, Banglamotor, Kaowran Bazar, Farmgate, Agargaon, Mirpur, Malibagh, Kawran Bazar and other areas have seen severe traffic jams.
More traffic congestion is caused due to irregular movement of private, non-mechanized vehicles and public transport. But it can be seen in most places, that everyone is crowding in various shopping malls to shop around Eid-al-Fitr. Due to this, the traffic on the surrounding roads is disturbed. Ibrahim was going to Kalyanpur from Paltan Mor in the capital. He said, that he was able to come to Sciencelab after waiting for almost two hours. Nothing is moving ahead as there are many cars on the road. But no one knows why this is happening. This may also be due to the negligence of the traffic police. Although several mega projects have been constructed across the capital to alleviate traffic congestion, a traffic-free city is yet to be seen. The suffering of the common people is constantly increasing. Urbanists feel that various government projects are not yielding good results. One of them is Metrorail. Moreover, the government has constructed the Dhaka Elevated Expressway so that the citizens of the capital can be freed from the suffering of traffic jams.
This is the biggest project undertaken by the government to ease traffic congestion. However, there is no result. Also, about 10 flyovers and similar infrastructure were constructed in the last two decades to reduce traffic congestion. However, the residents of the capital are not getting the expected results.
According to a study by BUET, the average speed of vehicles plying on the roads of the capital Dhaka during peak hours is 4.8 kmph. Which is less than the walking speed of a normal person. Two years ago this speed was six and a half kilometers per hour. Because a normal person can walk at a speed of five kilometers per hour. As a result, a person can walk to his destination before the car if he wants to. Although it seems normal, this is very worrying. Md. Hadiuzzaman, Professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) and Director of Accident Research Institute (AIR) said that Dhaka has long exceeded the capacity of the road and the number of vehicles.
Even though new cars are coming down, the amount of road is not increasing. As the number of vehicles exceeds the capacity of the roads, the traffic congestion is increasing. A healthy person can walk at an average speed of five kilometers per hour when walking normally. Car speeds are slightly slower than walking speeds during peak hours. Uncontrolled small vehicles are mainly responsible for excessive traffic congestion. BRTA should stop registering these small vehicles now. If the traffic pattern is not controlled, the situation can become worse.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) president and urban planner Dr. Adil Mohammed Khan said that the capacity of the roads in the capital Dhaka is several times more than the number of vehicles running. Building flyovers and expressways will not help if there is no transport capacity. In this case, the main task is to reduce small vehicles and increase public transport. Everyone should be interested in public transport. Without proper planning, big projects will not be profitable. It is important to focus on transportation to solve the problem of traffic congestion. Due to public transport problems and traffic congestion, many are turning to private cars. Although the government has said it will spend money on public transport and sidewalks, there is no implementation. It is possible to solve the problem of traffic congestion if a standard bus service is arranged throughout the capital. It is important to organize Dhaka's transport without making big projects. A project like the tunnel is an ambitious project for a city like Dhaka.
ZH
