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Buses block fire headquarters' main gate

Shahnaz Parveen
Unauthorised and haphazard parking of buses at Fulbaria bus terminal creates severe problem in movement of fire trucks from the fire station at Siddikbazar.
Firefighters said they always face a severe traffic jam in front of the station while rushing out of the station with fire engines and big firefighting equipments.
The most sophisticated and important fire fighting equipment of the fire service are kept at Siddikbazar station, also the headquarters of the department.
The buses that go out of order or need maintenance are parked on the street in front of the fire station. Servicing, tyre changing, cleaning of the vehicle are a regular practice there.
The fire department is compelled to keep the station's main gate closed almost all the time due to terrible gridlock in front of it
The emergency vehicles of the station have to rake several turns inside the station and exit trough a congested opening wasting precious time during emergency.
“Every moment is precious during emergency. Every time we attend a rescue operation we have to face a traffic jam right at the exit. It remains blocked with buses obstructing the movement
of emergency vehicles,” said a high official of the fire service.
"Emergency vehicles are always supposed to face the road so that they can exit faster. Exits are designed that way. But we cannot use our main gate because of the bus stand," he added.
"We often had to seek help from the traffic department to clear the road," the official said.
He mentioned that because of the bus terminal emergency vehicles coming out of the station cannot take a right turn even if they have to go to that direc-
tion.
"We always rake a detour towards the Police Headquarters if we need to go to that direction," the official said.
Siddikbazar fire station covers a large area including Ramna, Dhaka University campus, Gulistan and parts of old Dhaka.
The station has the country's only TTL (Turntable Ladder), a special ladder that can ascend up to 150 feet, one snorkel, one towtruck and special water carrying vehicles.
Locals said the bus terminal has always been a source of
chaos in the area. Due to inadequate space at the terminal and traffic mismanagement, the drivers have virtually turned the entire area from Bangabazar to Gulistan into a bus terminal.
Buses plying from Gulistan to Tongi, Gazipur, Kapasia, Dhamrai, Manikganj and other places keep the road occupied all the time. Every day around 1,800 to 2,000 vehicles belonging to 21 companies operate from this place.
Asked for their comments, the bus owners said the entire area is leased out by Dhaka City
Corporation as a terminal to a private company, which collects taxes for parking.
Md Abul Hashem Dewan, general secretary, Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity, said, "We pay a parking tax of Tk 15 for each vehicle per day but the authorities have not yet arranged facilities required for buses and the passengers at the terminal.”
"We try to keep the fire station's exit clean all the time," he said replying to a question.
DCC built a big shopping centre called City Plaza several years ago at the spot that used to be the Fulbaria bus terminal.
An official from DCC said these buses are not supposed to stay there for all day. They are just supposed to halt there for a few minutes, as it is a City Super Stopover Terminal.
Md Jasimuddin, joirft commissioner for Traffic, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, "We conduct raid on a regular basis at Fulbaria but they [bus drivers) keep violating the rules."
Another source from the traffic department said Fulbaria has always been a major source of traffic chaos. Buses are impounded regularly from the area. More than 70 buses were seized last month. The number is 40 so far tills month, the source added.