Due to renovation work on the Ashariarchar Bridge in Narayanganj on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, severe traffic congestion has occurred in the Dhaka-bound lane. Long queues of vehicles were seen from Burichang in Comilla to Meghna Toll Plaza on Saturday morning. Commuters were stuck on the road for hours, causing extreme suffering. Patients and foreign-bound passengers are suffering the most.
Talking to some drivers, it is known that passengers going abroad are in the most trouble. Because the flight was at 12 noon, they are still stuck in the Daudkandi area. Due to the AI camera, we are not able to go in the opposite direction. Many passengers are trying to get out of their cars and go to Dhaka by CNG and autorickshaws, but they have to pay 1,000 taka instead of 100 taka for the fare.
It has been learned that a long queue of vehicles has gathered in the Dhaka-bound lane from Ashariarchar Bridge towards Chandina in Comilla. Although the vehicles are moving very slowly in some places, they are almost at a standstill for a long time in most places. Due to the traffic jam, thousands of passengers are facing extreme hardship on various parts of the road from Daudkandi to Meghna Toll Plaza.
According to the Road Department, a large pothole had formed in a part of the Dhaka-bound lane of the Ashariarchar Bridge. The pothole was getting bigger day by day, so the Road Department started repair work there at around 11 am on Friday due to the fear of an accident. During the repair work, one of the two lanes of the highway was closed and vehicles were allowed to ply on the other lane. As a result, the pressure of vehicles on the highway gradually increased and at one stage it took the form of a long traffic jam. At night, the situation became more complicated as the pressure of additional vehicles crossed on one lane and its impact spread to the Comilla Chandina and Meghna toll plaza areas.
Some drivers stuck in long traffic jams said that the speed of vehicles is completely reduced after reaching the bridge area. Many vehicles are stuck in the same place for hours. This has caused extreme suffering to drivers of goods vehicles and long-distance passengers.
Monir Hossain is going to Dhaka with a foreign-bound passenger from Comilla. He said, I came from Chandina to Gouripur by auto rickshaw. Now I have to enter the airport at 10-12 o’clock. Cars are not going in the opposite direction due to AI cameras. It took 4 hours to reach Gouripur from Comilla, but there is a huge traffic jam ahead. It cost 1250 taka to reach Gouripur by auto rickshaw and CNG from Chandina.
Khandaker Arif Hossain has been stuck in the Daudkandi Toll Plaza area of Comilla for four hours. He said, it took 4 hours to travel 20 kilometers from Chandina to Daudkandi after leaving Comilla at 4 am. It is 10 am and I am still sitting 100 yards east of the Daudkandi Toll Plaza. No cars are going ahead. Small children have fallen ill due to the intense heat.
Prem Das Roy, officer-in-charge of Daudkandi Highway Police Station, said that the main reason for the traffic jam from Daudkandi to Meghna Toll Plaza is the road renovation in the Ashariarchar Bridge area. Kanchpur Highway Police Station will be able to provide details on this matter.
He also said that multiple teams of highway police are working continuously in the field to normalize vehicle movement and control traffic congestion.
Saiful Islam, in-charge of Elliotganj Highway Police Station, told Amar Desh, the traffic jam has crossed Chandina and reached near Nimsar in Burichang Upazila. Cars are moving slowly. Our multiple teams are working to resolve the traffic jam.
