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Tailbacks, thanks to PM's reception

Star Report
Thousands of commuters remained stuck in tailbacks for hours in the capital yesterday, as ruling party leaders and activists thronged the airport from different areas to welcome the prime minister on her return from the USA.
Flouting traffic rules, leaders and activists of the Awami League and its associate bodies occupied busy roads and intersections from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Gono Bhaban to greet Sheikh Hasina.
They started heading for the airport in small processions and in buses, trucks and pick-ups from around 3:00pm. Many others stood with placards, banners and festoons on both sides of the road from the airport to Gono Bhaban.
Several groups of ruling party activists played musical instruments and danced in joy on busy roads and intersections, creating traffic jams much before Hasina and her entourage landed at the airport around 5:30pm.
The AL accorded a reception to Hasina at the airport on her winning the International Organisation for South-South Cooperation Award for her role in reducing poverty. She was on an eight-day official visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly.
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A number of ministers, lawmakers, and military and government officials, diplomats and top AL leaders were present at the airport to receive Hasina. The premier left the airport at 6:10pm and directly went to her official residence, Gono Bhaban, via Jahangir gate.
The Daily Star correspondents talked to commuters, who suffered due to long tailbacks in Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Tejgaon, Nakhalpara, Bijoy Sarani, Mohakhali, Gulshan, Baridhara, Kuril, Uttara, Mirpur, Nakhalpara, Moghbazar, Paltan and Azimpur.
"As I reached Bijoy Sarani near parliament around 4:30 on my way to Farmgate, I saw people dancing in the middle of the street, and vehicles were struggling to make their way through. I had to wait there for more than 25 minutes," said Ziaul Haque, who works at a private organisation.
"Usually, it takes half-an-hour to reach my office at Farmgate by car from Asad Avenue. But today it took about 90 minutes," he said.
There had been tailbacks on busy roads from the airport to Gono Bhaban since 3:00pm.
But top traffic officials claimed that vehicular movement across the capital was normal.
Mir Rezaul Alam, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (traffic), said there was no traffic congestion in the capital due to the ruling party's reception for the prime minister.
"The traffic is as usual today," he said.
But in reality, traffic jams in many parts of the capital were so severe that many commuters got down from vehicles and walked to their destinations.
Farhana Islam, who had left Nikunja around 4:30pm for her Chankharpul residence, remained stuck at Banani till 6:40pm.
"I remained stuck there for more than an hour.” She finally got down from the vehicle and started walking.
Many ambulances carrying patients had been stuck on several roads for hours.
Md Tareq, a CNG-run autorickshaw driver, said he started for Mirpur from Uttara around 5:30 but could not cross Kuril till 7:40pm.
Fifty-year-old businessman Md Hanif Mia, who was on his way to Mouchak market from Uttara, said he had hardly seen such a severe traffic jam in the capital.
Vehicular movement on the road from Gono Bhaban to Jahangir Gate
came almost to a almost halt, as ruling party leaders and workers marched through the road shortly after5:00pm.
"We remained stuck at Mohakhali intersection for two hours from 5:00pm," said Md Farhad, conductor of a bus that plies between Abdullahpur and Gulistan.
Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on the busy road for hours.
Seeing no sign of improvement in vehicular movement, hundreds of passengers, who were returning home from work, got down from the vehicles and started walking to their destinations.
"As my bus remained stuck in a traffic jam for 30 minutes at Mohakhali, I got down from the vehicle and started walking," said Rawshan Ara Rumana.
"It took me more than an hour to reach Farmgate," said the woman, who is in her forties.
Monowar Ahmed, who lives in Khilkhet, said he had to walk from Mohakhali up to Farmgate to catch a bustojatrabari.
"Though doctors asked me not to lift heavy objects, I had to carry my luggage weighing around 30kg all the way,” he said.