Office-goers in Dhaka on Tuesday morning are suffering the aftermath of Cyclone Sitrang as they remain stuck in gridlock.
Several places from Khilkhet to Abdullahpur remained waterlogged and the ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project work only added to the commute woes.
Buses and private vehicles remained stuck in a long tailback from Hotel Le Meridien to Dhaka Airport road area as the movement was very slow from Abdullahpur area due to BRT project work.
Meanwhile, the road in front of Bangladesh Navy Headquarters remained waterlogged — creating another tailback for commuters heading towards Banani from Khilkhet area through the flyover.
Landing of Kuril flyover towards Radisson Blu Hotel remained waterlogged and contributed to the tailback towards Banani.
Abu Rayhan Md Saleh, Joint Commissioner for Traffic (Dhaka north) of DMP, told UNB that the road in front of Navy headquarters and several other spots remained waterlogged due to yesterday’s incessant rain.
“People are facing tailbacks from Uttara to Mohakhali this morning. But the traffic movement remained smooth in Mirpur area,” he added.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police have requested commuters to avoid the route from Khilkhet through Uttara to Gazipur today, due to a long tailback.
Uttara Traffic Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued an alert, saying that heavy rains induced by the Cyclone Sitrang have caused waterlogging at different points in Gazipur on Dhaka-Mymensingh road.
Due to the big holes in the road and waterlogging, vehicle movement from Khilkhet through Uttara to Mohakhali has been seriously disrupted, it said.
In this situation, commuters are requested to not use this route unless urgent.
Cyclone Sitrang crossed the Barishal-Chattogram coast near Bhola on Monday midnight and weakened rapidly into a depression by giving precipitation.
Sitrang now lies over Dhaka-Cumilla-Brahmanbaria and adjoining areas as a land depression, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
As Sitrang started lashing the country’s coastal areas, nearly all of Bangladesh suffered under inclement weather with uprooted trees or falling branches killing people and disconnecting power transmission lines, and incessant rainfall causing waterlogging in urban areas.
Most parts of the country, including Dhaka, witnessed moderate to heavy rains throughout Monday under the impact of the cyclonic storm.
Many areas in the capital Dhaka and neighbouring Narayanganj plunged into darkness, following a huge disruption in power supply that authorities blamed on Cyclone Sitrang.
