A weekly cattle market just beside the Dhaka-Tangail highway at Deohata in Mirzapur upazila is creating serious traffic jam on the narrow road before the Eid-ul Azha and Durga Puja festivals.

The market sits at the spot every Tuesday but this year the market committee decided to continue the market till the Eid day, sources said.

This correspondent, while visiting the cattle market on Tuesday, saw sacrificial animals were being unloaded at different places keeping the trucks haphazardly on the busy highway.

The 70-km two-lane highway from Joydevpur of Gazipur to Elenga in Tangail is considered as the gate of

road communication to 26 districts including 16 in north, highway police officials said.

The homebound people are now facing untold sufferings due to traffic jam on the highway, they said.

The other reasons behind the traffic jam include plying numerous vehicles against its capacity, movement of unfit vehicles, interruption of vehicular movements for at least 22 times a day due to level crossing at Dherua in Mirzapur and also presence of several road crossings and markets at different places on the highway, they added.

The animal market, situated only a few metres away from the busy Dherua level crossing will definitely create long tailback of vehicles on the narrow highway, drivers said.

"We have already expressed our concern to the authorities concerned saying that the cattle market at Deohata will worsen the traffic jam situation during the holydays of Eid and Durga Puja," said Jobaidul Alam, officer in-charge of Gorai highway police station.

Contacted, Afroza Akter Chowdhury, upazila nirbahi officer in Mirzapur, told this correspondent that although the market committee announced to run the cattle market also on Sunday and Monday next, they are not legally allowed to do so. They can hold market only on Tuesday, she said.

"1 have already sent a letter to the market committee in this regard and directed them not to unload animals on the highway,” she added.