C T Online Desk: After a two-year Covid pandemic in Bangladesh, lakhs of people on their homebound eid journeys this year are likely to face immense sufferings on the roads, waterways and railway.
Besides a vast number of travellers, traffic congestion, limited number of transports, running construction works on key points on roads and highways, ferry crisis and a limited number train seats are the key factors that might increase sufferings of the holidaymakers.
The number of accidents on roads is also likely to go up this year due to huge rushes on roads, said observers concerned.
Mismanagement and lack of monitoring by the authorities, extortion on roads and charging extra fares are other issues that would add to the ever-growing sufferings of people on all modes of travel.
While the authorities concerned said that they would take action to facilitate the eid journeys, rights activists and transport experts said that immediate action was necessary.
Like the previous years, the most painful pressure points will be the exits out of Dhaka, the Dhaka–Tangail, Dhaka–Mymensingh, Dhaka–Rangpur, Dhaka–Sylhet highways and the Paturia–Daulatdia and Aricha–Kazirhat waterways.
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, will as usual be the centre of sufferings of the homebound people.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people leave the capital on the occasion of the eid festivals, the rush during which saw easing in the past two years due to the Covid restrictions.
‘Before this eid, we assume, some 30 lakh people will leave Dhaka daily for four days,’ said Accident Research Institute director Professor Md Hadiuzzaman.
The number would be much higher compared to the previous two years as there are no restrictions this year, he observed.
There would be high risks of accidents, he added, as 12-13 lakh of these 30 lakh people would leave Dhaka by goods-laden vehicles and on the roofs of trains due to lack of regular transports.
On Sunday, the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh at a press conference pointed out a number of exit points of Dhaka which would be risky due to traffic congestion.
They are Jatrabari, Saidabad, Babubazar Bridge, Postogola, Tongi rail station, Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master Flyover, Mirer Bazar, Ulukhola, Kanchan Bridge, Gabtoli Mazar Road, Mirer Dhour, Ashulia, EPZ area, Chandra, Rayer Bazar Shaheed Buddhijibi Bridge, Jinjira, Keraniganj, Hatirjheel, Mohakhali, Rampura, Shekher Jaiga, Amulia, Demra, Sultana Kamal Bridge, Chittagong Road, Kanchpur, Modonpur, Meghna Toll Plaza, Bhulta, Gausia, Borfa and the stretch from Uttara to Gazipur.
