Heavy traffic congestion has brought movement to a crawl on two major highways — Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet — as thousands of people leave the capital and surrounding areas for their hometowns ahead of the four-day Durga Puja holiday.
A massive 19-kilometer tailback was reported from Signboard to Meghna Toll Plaza on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. The Dhaka-Sylhet highway also saw significant slowdowns, particularly in areas like Bhairab, Narsingdi, and Araihazar, with vehicles moving slowly or stopping intermittently.
Authorities say both the holiday rush and unfavorable weather have made it difficult to maintain normal road conditions. Highway police have deployed additional personnel at key points to manage traffic, but the volume of vehicles remains overwhelming.
Abdul Qader Jilani, in-charge of the Kanchpur Highway Police outpost, said poor weather conditions and the surge in holiday travel have drastically increased the number of vehicles on the road, causing severe traffic jams.
“Compared to normal days, the traffic volume is several times higher. That’s why vehicle movement has slowed down significantly, leading to long tailbacks,” he said. “We’ve assigned multiple teams to handle the situation. Hopefully, things will improve soon,” said Jilani.
PT/ra
