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IS ANYBODY WATCHING?

Where traffic crawls

Mirpur-10 sees snarl-up throughout the day; buses stopping at will choke roads to the roundabout; traffic police's inaction blamed

Helemul Alam
Commuting through the dty's Mirpur-10 intersection has become a dreadful experience for people due to long tailbacks on all sides of the roundabout almost throughout the day, sometimes at night and during holidays as well.
Illegal parking and careless passenger picking and dropping by buses and human hauliers almost regularly choke all the roads leading to the intersection, one of the most used crossroads of the city, creating intolerable snarl-ups.
While transport workers and commuters hold the inaction of traffic police largely responsible for the situation, the traffic controllers brush the allegation off, saying they are doing everything they can.
Commuters say traffic congestion at the intersection can be eased overnight only if traffic police showed no tolerance to public transport that pick or drop off passengers right at the entry points of the intersection, barring traffic flow.
Drivers of buses and human hauliers park vehicles anywhere around the crossing on their whims. Although a police box is located right at the centre of the intersection, the traffic controllers seem nonchalant about this, allege commuters.Even the transport workers themselves feel aggrieved at the police inaction.
"Public bus drivers do it all the time because the traffic police do not take any action against them," said Abdul Majid, driver of a CNG-run three wheeler, yesterday.
The bus drivers too admitted their wrongdoing.
“We have no other way but to pick passengers at the crossing because we need more passengers and there is a competition with other buses," said Shahabuddin, who drives a bus of Best Transport on the Mirpur-Jatrabari route.
Citing another reason for the congestion, he pointed out that there are some CNG filling stations around the roundabout where queues of vehicles could be seen throughout the day, occupying a good portion of the roads.
Moreover, hordes of jaywalkers prefer crossing the roads from all directions, at risk to their lives. Their not taking the four-way footbridge further slows down traffic movement at the
intersection, noted Anisur Rahman, who drives a private car.
Although the roads around the roundabout are off-limits to rickshaws, these three wheelers regularly crowd the roads, taking advantage of the nonchalance of police which is another reason for congestion there.
Traffic Inspector (Admin) Khandokar Iftekhar Hossain of the DMP's Pallabi Traffic Zone, however, claimed that the police were doing their best to keep things in control.
According to him, around 200 vehicles are fined daily for violating traffic rules. Police can fine only Tk 200 for illegal parking which is not an apt penalty, he believes. "The amount should be at least 1000."
"The congestion at the intersection can be reduced by as much as thirty percent by keeping the rickshaws away," he said. But first, the city corporation would have to take measures to this end, he suggested.
Local people suggested that the
traffic situation there could be eased by making use of the West Parbata road. Vehicles bound to Mirpur-2 can be rerouted through this road.
Hossain agreed to this, saying congestion could be lessened by around 25 percent by doingthis.
However, the suggested road is not in a good state either with a major portion of it occupied by makeshift shops. There is even a large garbage container, shrinking the entry.
Experts, however, have a different view.
Dr Md Samsul Hoque, Professor of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, recommends removal of the existing roundabout and introduction of signalling system at the intersection for better traffic flow.
However, he believes that the ultimate solution to addressing the situation is to build overpasses and underpasses (a grade separation system) atMirpur-10 intersection.