Gridlock around bus terminals worsened by street parking
The capital has taken on quite an unusual appearance on the second day of Eid holidays where some streets appear almost deserted while roads leading to bus terminals are completely jam packed.
Commuters reported it took an extra hour and a half to enter the Syedabad terminal via Atish Dipankar Road.
Meanwhile, a long tailback was seen from Kakrail all the way to Gulistan.
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Passengers travelling by bus from Gulistan via Padma Bridge had to tackle the congestion bearing the intense heat, on top of all things. Those travelling by launch along the Gulistan-Sadarghat route faced the same.
Many who had purchased tickets in advance to head on over to their loved ones for Eid holidays reportedly missed their buses due to being stuck in heavy traffic.
Near the Mohakhali Bus Terminal area, rows of buses were seen parked on the main road, leaving little space for vehicles to pass.
Several Mymensingh and Kishoregan bound buses were among those occupying the roads.
Commuters said it took nearly an hour to cross the one-kilometre road from Tibet Crossing to the Mohakhali bus counter.
Contacted, Road Transport Owners Association Secretary General Khandaker Enayet Ullah refused to comment on the issue of street parking.
Abul Kalam, president of the Mohakhali Inter-District Bus Owners Association, said some buses are parked as there aren't enough passengers. He also believes insufficient capacity at the Mohakhali Bus Terminal parking may have led bus drivers to park on streets.
"Mohakhali Terminal has a capacity to park 400 buses, but around 800 buses operate from there every day, and the number exceeds 1,000 during Eid. So, the additional number of buses take to street parking," he added.
Md Munibur Rahman, additional commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the number of trips from Dhaka to different parts of the country has been doubled to meet the demand for public transport.
"Traffic policemen were instructed not to allow any buses to be parked at the entry points, but some buses are not complying with the instructions," he said.
