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Rotting in a traffic hell

Commuters suffer as vehicles couldn't care less about laws on Nayabazar road

HelemulAlam
Unable to inch through the horrendous traffic on Nayabazar Road between Tantibazar to Second Buriganga Bridge even after three and a half hours, Anis Alamgir had to abandon his plan to cross the bridge to go to Keraniganj yesterday afternoon.
"If the roads were free, I could have crossed this distance in 15 minutes,” the businessman told this correspondent, while turning back his motorbike.
Anis complained that haphazard movement of all sorts of motorised and non-motorised vehicles ranging from trucks to push carts clogs the entire stretch of road from Tantibazar intersection to the ramp of the bridge, also known as Babubazar Bridge.
Traffic signals are hardly of any use on this road with rickshaws and other non-motorised vehicles constituting majority of the traffic. Moreover, illegal parking on both sides of the road adds to the intensity of the already unbearable traffic congestion.
The chaotic traffic at Tantibazar intersection leading to English Road on the east and Gulistan on the north creates tailbacks up to the middle of the Buriganga bridge which connects to the vital ferry terminal of Mawa.
Md Shahin, driver of Gangchil bus service, said that he has to wait for around 15 minutes at this intersection during the day.
"However, after 9:00pm when trucks too start running on the road, the congestion intensifies and it takes even an hour to cross this intersection sometimes," said Shahin.
Sergeant Abdullah Al Shakil of Kotwali traffic police zone said rickshaw and non-motorised vehicles like push carts make up 70 percent of the vehicles that use the intersection.
"It is not possible to control them. They keep violating traffic rules all the time," he said.
Infact, when this correspondent visited the area around 11:20am on Tuesday, he did not see any traffic policing at the junction forabouthalf an hour.
Three traffic constables were found standing nonchalantly nearby as the vehicles, mainly rickshaws, were crossing the roads from all sides freely.
The constables stepped in only when the gridlock became too chaotic for them with vehicles honking and people shouting and swearing at each other. However, their interference hardly worked.
"The fine for violating traffic rule is between Tk 250-500. This amount should be doubled," commented Shakil, saying about five cases are filed against motorised vehicles every day for violating traffic signal.
"If the amount of fine is increased, motorised vehicles might stop violating traffic rules," he said.
However, Shakil could not offer a solution to control the movement of rickshaws.
Truck drivers are another group that cares none, not even police, as if the stretch between Dholaikhal and Nayabazar was there for them to use as parking spots.
Besides using the Dholaikhal truck stand, they also occupy both sides of English Road up to the Tantibazar intersection.
Further ahead, towards Nayabazar, pickup trucks are found in long queues for loading and unloading goods at the hardware shops on both sides ofthe road.
"The 10-15 minute long red signal could have been brought down to two minutes if the trucks and rickshaws could be controlled," said Sergeant Shakil, who along with four constables and an Ansar member is assigned to control traffic at the intersection on two shifts.
He said that the truck labourers do not listen to traffic police as they are a strong organised group and block the road if police take action against them.
Md Riaz Mia, driver of a pick-up truck delivering hardware goods to a Nayabazar shop, said, "I have no choice but to park on the side of the road as there is no designated parking space."