During the holy month of Ramadan, a significant increase in traffic congestion has been observed within Dhaka. This escalation can be attributed to several contributing factors such as authorities struggling to manage traffic flow, schools remaining open, a surge in foot traffic, slow-moving vehicles, and rampant illegal parking. These combined factors are resulting in lengthy commutes and a decline in overall traffic efficiency.
It has been observed that there have been traffic jams on several roads and intersections including Mohakhali, Banani, Badda, Police Plaza, Gulshan Tejgaon Link Road areas and the road of Shahbagh to Farmgate, Bijoy Sarani, Khilkhet, Mouchak, Moghbazar, Malibagh, Jatrabari, Syedabad, Gulistan and Dhanmondi areas.
Md Shamsul Hoque, a professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said traffic congestion is a typical problem in Dhaka. There are some consistent reasons for traffic jams during the month of Ramadan.
“This is mainly due to slow-moving vehicles, vehicles carrying over their capacity, uncontrolled parking, foot traffic, and overall traffic mismanagement. Some things cannot be done quickly, they have to be practiced.”
Many people come to the capital from other parts of the country in expectation of earning some extra money before Eid-ul-Fitr. The crowd mostly consists of rickshaw pullers, street vendors, day labourers, and others of such kind. This puts even more pressure on the previously congested narrow Dhaka roads.
Residents of the city say that development work is ongoing but the traffic congestion is not reducing. People living around metro stations will get some benefits during Ramadan. But most people will suffer as before. If Metrorail is introduced on a few more routes, this problem can be alleviated.
At the Mohakhali Bus Terminal, a private-sector employee Aziz Khan told The Business Post “After working all day, I wish to go home to have Iftar with my family. But I do not know if I can reach on time as I have been stuck in one place for about two hours.”
During a visit to the Mohakhali Bus Terminal, it was seen that buses were parked on the road to Banani. Also, the buses leave the terminal and make constant stops to pick up the passengers. The on-duty traffic policemen are seen trying to get the vehicles to move.
Meanwhile, as most educational institutions are open during the month of Ramadan, it is causing more people on the roads than usual. At the same time, government and corporate offices also start when the schools start, causing more on-road traffic.
Due to the traffic situation in Dhaka, instructions were given earlier to close the government-run primary and secondary schools during the month of Ramadan. But most educational institutions are open because the directives changed as the Primary and Mass Education Ministry and Ministry of Education on Tuesday informed that the country’s government primary schools will remain open for the first 10 days of Ramadan (till March 21) and secondary level schools will remain open until March 25.
Alamgir Kabir, a student of a reputed state-owned university told The Business Post “Our in-course exam is ongoing as well as classes. So we have to go to the university. But sometimes, I miss the classes because of traffic congestion.”
Another underlying factor is that many people go out shopping for necessities using their cars and other private vehicles during Ramadan. These types of trips add more to the prevailing congestion. Also, the cars are then parked, restricting space for traffic movement on the road next to the shopping centres. Rickshaw pullers also join the parking areas hoping for fares.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman stated that there will be special measures to control traffic during the month of Ramadan from 3 pm to 7 pm. He explained, “Our police forces are always active and ready to serve people with professionalism.”
But the roads display something entirely different. At midday, this reporter found that the busiest intersections of Dhaka such as Gulistan, Shahbagh, Farmgate, Mogbazar, and Mouchak see almost two to three-kilometre-long traffic congestions.
However, just before Iftar, DMP Joint Police Commissioner (Traffic-South) SM Mehedi Hasan said, "I am in Gulistan right now, I can see that everything is normal. We have officers at every point and they are handling everything with a firm hand.”
