We agree with Communication Minister Obaidul Quader’s call to reduce traffic jams before Eid. The minister recently asked the deputy commissioners to take the necessary steps to solve this problem, and also directed the authorities concerned to stop digging roads before Eid to minimise traffic congestion.
Traffic ahead of Eid has become unbearable not only in the capital, but also in the major highways. During the rush hours before and after Eid, the traffic condition tends to worsen each year. Hordes of people head home from Dhaka as Eid nears, and their suffering begins from the bus terminals and the exit points of Dhaka because of the traffic condition. Later, the vacationers end up stuck in tailbacks for hours or even days in Dhaka-Mawa, Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet, and other major highways.
The pre-Eid traffic is a serious headache for commuters who only want to observe the holy festival with their families. Valuable time is wasted in these gridlocks. To solve this problem, unauthorised parking and the stacking of construction materials beside the roads needs to stopped.
The roads need to be widened, and damaged highways need to be renovated. We should make sure any repair work is done in an efficient manner and does not exacerbate the traffic problem.
It is past time the authorities took steps to improve the agonising traffic congestions created during the Eid rush. Immediate steps should be taken to make this happy journey a less agonising one
Source: Dhaka Tribune