The New Nation - Internet Edition

Talha Bin Habib

Traffic congestion in the capital has been taking a worse turn with every passing day causing immense sufferings to the commuters and wasting their valuable time.

Haphazard car parking, excessive number of vehicles plying on the road, poor knowledge of drivers on traffic rules and encroachment of footpaths by hawkers are mainly creating unbearable traffic jam across the city.

The traffic gridlocks are a regular phenomenon on different roads in the city from morning to evening and even late at night at some places.

The traffic scenario in the old parts of the capital city is horrible. Commuters have to spend at least one hour to reach Gulistan from Sadarghat by bus, whereas it should not take more than 10 to 15 minutes to cover the distance.

Residents of the old parts of the city called upon the concerned authority to take remedial measures to reduce their woes caused by traffic jam.

Visiting this area this correspondent found that buses, cars, auto-rickshaws and manually handled rickshaws were found standstill at the same place for a long time.

Traffic department sources said there is 6-7 hour of traffic snarl every day at different intersections and railway level crossings.

Traffic congestion usually occurs at 35-road intersections and 20 railway level crossings in the city. Besides, every year thousands of new vehicles are being pressed into operation on the city roads. The new vehicles and the existing ones have been putting a heavy pressure on the limited roads in the capital, sources added.

Experts and town planners said computerised traffic signalling system alone could not reduce traffic gridlock in the city. They suggested banning all slow driven vehicles and construction of new roads and bypasses in the city to ease this nagging problem.

An official of BRTA said that many unauthorised vehicles from outside the capital are adding to the problem of traffic snarl every day.