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Speeding at 20km/hr!

So, given my two and a half hours of observation and thinking time, the only stark reality that stood out was that there were just too many people. Too many people and too few roads. With the average influx of population into our glorious capital piling in by the millions every year; high-rise buildings with dwindling parking spaces is not helping at all.

Fariha Khandaker
10:00 AM seemed to be a good enough time to head out if I was to get to work from Uttara to Karwan Bazaar by at the most 11:30 in the morning. So how long did it take me? I was at work in no less than two and a half hours. In two areas of my route, my mode of transport was at a standstill for half an hour at each of the two signals respectively.
If I were to complain about bad driving, then it would take out two thirds of the people who actually drive. Then again, by percentage the number of less-educated traffic officers would, if statistically proven, certainly be a lot higher. Not to mention the temper tantrums that people are simply provoked into as a result: with the scorch- ing heat to top things off.
So, given my two and a half hours of observation and thinking time, the only stark reality that stood out was that there were just too many people. Too many people and too few roads. With the average influx of population into our glorious capital piling in by the millions every year; high-rise buildings with dwindling parking spaces is not helping at all.
New cars are being shipped in to suffice the need of higher incomes of a small-concentrated mass, and lowered restrictions and generous government leniency over the years are giving incentive to what exactly?
The questions that come crawling in from all directions, when evaluated, cannot be deemed any higher than sheer common sense. We have a severe problem! Many people addressing it by words: yes. By action: no. Just how much is the budget for infrastructural development?
We cannot establish a proper signalling system for road transportation in the city, and there are plans for an underground subway? Seriously? It seems as though the government is rapidly trying to fast pace itself to join in with the big guns from the rest of South Asia, in terms of bragging rights. India has a subway system, so can't we, right?
Moreover, the government is setting out a 2.2 billion dollar scheme to deal with the traffic congestion. Now we're talking. But wait, the communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain said that it would take about four years for the entire process with all its added work to be set in motion, even though finance officials have approved the budget. Well, we all know what usually happens to these projects, which tend to linger for years at a time to finally, if ever, take any effect.
Meanwhile, vehicles that even the grim reaper would not hitchhike in are re-emerging in full flow. People are still reading 'no-parking' signs as 'please do Dark here', and I am certain that a great number of the traffic officers are colour blind. The only benefits from these long hours in traffic are booming FM radio stations. Even the government's decision to get the army involved at some point has failed to take much effect.
Whatever happened to the establishing efficient training programs for those responsible for maintaining order on the streets; the traffic officers need to be taught that each signal at a juncture should have equal time lapse as opposed to free flow on one side for thirty minutes while the rest of the fourway is sitting there swatting flies.
It is a fact that Bangladesh is one of those few developing countries, which is in dire need of decentralization. Dhaka is already straining at the pressure of being the absolute centre of commerce, education, diplomacy and politics. It can no longer sustain itself as the dream city for rural-urban migration for a better livelihood. If there is effective government planning that focuses on developing cities in other districts, like Comilla, Sylhet, Barisal, and even Chittagong, then there would not be a flooding in of people with high hopes and higher disappointments later on. If possible, let each district become the hub for a different sector so that our country can finally look at some form of actual specialisation.
On the other hand, every government wants what is best for the nation. So maybe I'm just being unable to see the bigger picture where by 2021, in our 'digital' nation, it will easily be possible to travel from Uttara to Karwan Bazaar in a matter of a just a few minutes. Excellent!
Fariha Khandaker is an Editorial Assistant for The Daily Star