With authorities turning a blind eye, illegal vehicle parking and street vendors continue to occupy and clog different sections of roads and footpaths near Jatrabari intersection, one of the city’s busiest intersections and a prime entrance into the capital.
Due to such rising illegal practices, vehicles and pedestrians in the area now find it difficult to travel through the narrow roads. Most of these roads have also become unfit for vehicular movement as construction materials for the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover were being kept on the roadsides.
During a recent visit, this correspondent found that a large number of vehicles, mainly buses, trucks, human haulers, auto-rickshaws and rickshaws were unlawfully parked on roads around the Jatrabari intersection, such as the Mawa road, Chittagong road, Sylhet road, Narayanganj road and Demra road.
Besides, many roadside shop owners had also taken over a portion of the public space to display their products while many makeshift shops, such as tea stalls, utensil and fruit sellers, were also seen on the footpaths.
“Earlier, illegal parking only took place at certain points under the Mayor Hanif Flyover, but now vehicles are being parked on both sides of Jatrabari-Sayedabad road,” said Saiful, a local resident.
“To avoid the congestion at the intersection, a large number of vehicles now avoid Jatrabari-Sayedabad road and use the Shamibagh-Dayaganj road as an alternative route,” he added.
He also said that not only footpaths, street vendors have also started to occupy a portion of the roads to put their goods on display.
Salma Akter, a resident of Shamibagh alleged: “Unauthorised kitchen markets on walkways and roads adjoining Jatrabari intersection are very common, but city corporation officials and the police are silent over the issue.”
Imran Sikder, assistant sub inspector of Jatrabari Traffic Police Box told the Dhaka Tribune: “There is no traffic jam in the area (Jatrabari intersection). We are always trying to reduce jam at the area.”
He further claimed traffic congestion in the area had lessened than before and would reduce further once the construction of flyover was complete.
However, the correspondent found drivers have parked their buses and trucks on the road in front of the police box, while the other side of the road was occupied by street vendors.
When asked, Dhaka South City Corporation Chief Estate Officer Khalid Ahmed said: “I am aware of the situation, action would be taken immediately.”
He also said the city corporation would conduct eviction drives against the encroachers within a few days.
Residents of Jatrabari and its adjoining areas, daily commuters to the capital from nearby districts, mainly Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Munshiganj, have been hard-hit by these illegal practices as several sections of these roads were already in a dilapidated state due to negligence and the lack of maintenance from concerned authorities.
Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover, which was built with an aim to ease the traffic congestion on the eastern side of the capital, had failed to attract vehicles as the flyover operators charge high toll from its users.
A large number of commuters, who travel through the route daily, avoid using the flyover and prefer the road below to save travelling costs instead of time.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
