Commuters suffer again as traffic chokes on AL, BNP marches

The commuters of the capital had to face another day of unbearable traffic on Wednesday, the second day of the counter programmes of the BNP and the Awami League.

In the afternoon, Awami League leaders-activists gathered in the Satrasta area of Tejgaon for a peace and development procession.

And earlier in the morning, BNP started a march from Abdullahpur of Uttara. A short rally was held there before the start of the march.

The programmes obstructed vehicle movement on several busy roads in the city resulting in agonising traffic congestion.

A commuter Husneyara Begum told The Business Standard that she was only able to reach her workplace after six hours on the road.

"My office closed at 4pm but I arrived at 4:15pm," she annoyedly said.

Shimul Halder in the Tejgaon area said he was forced to walk home from his office. "I need to walk at least 8km. I can't say how many hours it will take."

Zainul Abedin, a deputy commissioner of Ramna Traffic Division told TBS that the number of vehicles on the road was less on Wednesday. "Even then, there was a traffic jam on important roads as cars had to move slower."

Due to the processions, one side of the Uttara road was blocked since 10:20am as cars entering the city from Gazipur were stuck in a long tailback.

The traffic congestion increased in Tejgaon in the evening as the Awami League leaders and workers started gathering to hold their peace and development march.

A commuter Jaber came to Khilkhet from Gazipur with his family and was heading towards ECB circle. He was standing on the roads for almost an hour after not waiting for a bus.

"I can not find any bus. There are two children with me, they are getting sick," he said.

Tawhid, another commuter heading for Mohakhali, said, "Some buses are running but they are full to the brim.

Both the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP started their two-day programmes on Tuesday – the AL with its "development procession" and the BNP with its one-point movement for the resignation of the government.

There was heavy traffic on Tuesday as well owing to the political parties' rallies.

According to traffic police, the BNP road march started from Abdullahpur in the morning. This led to traffic jams in Uttara, Kuril, Badda and Gulshan areas.

Then around 3:30pm, heavy traffic congestion started in the Ramna area due to the peace and development procession of Awami League.

The rally spread traffic jams to Hatirjheel, Moghbazar, Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar and Farmgate areas.