Homegoers resort to iftar on road amid long tailback on Expressway, adjacent roads 

It was only a few minutes to iftar by the time there was some movement of cars along the road. With no other choice, Tariba, a Banani DOHS resident, decided to break her fast on the road.

"I started at 4:00pm from Eskaton toward Banani DOHS. It usually takes me about an hour to reach home on a regular Ramadan day. But today, it has already been two hours and I'm still stuck in Tejgaon, no way near Banani," she said.

Photo: TBS

Azharul Islam, joint director of the central bank, was also stuck in traffic counting the final minutes till iftar. He had hopped on the metro rail around 5:12pm and was headed towards Mirpur.

Photo: TBS

"There was a mad rush inside the metro carriages and the stations were packed. As I live in Banani, I got off at the Bijoy Sarani station and got on a public bus. I managed to reach home by 5:52pm," said Azharul.

Ariful Islam Rony, assistant commissioner of Mohakhali Traffic Zone, noted that today was the first working day after a three-day weekend. 

"Usually, people rush to get home in the final hour till iftar. Today, the traffic is so immense that a long tailback could be seen on the Expressway which is usually free."

Moghbazar flyover. Photo: TBS

A Gulshan resident, Nasif, was headed home from Eskaton. As per usual, he took the Expressway for a quicker ride home.

"I left from the New Eskaton Road around 4:00pm, then about an hour or so later, managed to get to the Expressway.

Dhaka Elevated Expressway. Photo: TBS

"Overall, it was a terrible experience. It was made worse because Google maps and the Uber apps were showing that the route to Gulshan from Moghbazar would only take about forty minutes," he said.

"From the entrance of the Expressway, we could see the long tailback while entering the area.

Though his destination was Gulshan 2, he said he'd arrived in Banani with even more traffic. So then, Nasif chose to exit his car and walk home.