Staff Reporter :
The demonstration by several hundred readymade garment workers to protest against sacking their fellow workers caused a serious traffic jam in city’s Mirpur and its surrounding areas on Monday.
The agitating workers clashed with police after blocking a key road in Mirpur 1 intersection, demanding reinstatement of the sacked workers, outstanding salaries and bonuses.
Witnesses said, workers of Meridian Fashions Limited occupied the street in front of the Sony Cinema Hall around 11:00am yesterday and vandalised several vehicles.
As a result, Mirpur and its adjoining areas were choked with hundred of buses, coaches and motor vehicles seriously worsening the situation.
The agitators were still on the street around 5:00pm, the police’s Deputy Commissioner (Mirpur division) Masud Alam told the media.
Police and locals said, Meridian Fashions Limited issued a notice on Sunday announcing the factory’s closure from Monday to Wednesday due to, what it called, an “illegal strike.”
The factory authorities also threatened to prolong the closure period if the situation did not improve.
As a result, a serious commotion was created among the agitating workers. Traffic situation on both sides of the Mirpur 2 intersection in front of Sony Cinema Hall worsened and ultimately the traffic jam spread to the entire city, causing immense sufferings to pedestrians and commuters.
Commuters traveling through the roads in the area stranded as the clash between the workers and cops led to the severe gridlock on the busy road causing untold sufferings to them.
Experts said, the nagging traffic congestion in the city roads has already reached to an alarming situation as top officials of government’s development agencies are playing blame game to solve the problems.
So the question arises who control the city road? Mayors or police!
The horrible situation made the city life miserable along with eating up valuable working hours of the people and bringing back the expected development of the country.
Movement from one place to another of five kilometer distance takes more or less two to three hours making the city life miserable.
Sufferers also claimed that the newly built multi-billion cost flyovers in the city also failed to make any impact to the fate of the commuters as long traffic congestions on the flyovers has also become a regular phenomenon of the city life.
A recent study by the World Bank says that vehicular movement in Dhaka city is gradually going toward zero speed.
Hour average speed of vehicle within the city was around 24km in 1994 and 17km in 2004 which came down to only 6km plus in 2016, studies carried out by different domestic and international agencies showed.
However, lack of coordination among the government’s development entities, unplanned urbanization and adaptation of development projects considering political gain blamed for the worsening situation.
Besides, huge inflow of new vehicles in city streets, uncoordinated development activities by government entities like DESA, WASA, Titas Gas, City Corporations, and other agencies have long been causing additional sufferings to the fate of vehicular movement in the city.
“I cannot do two works in a day as traffic congestion eats up all my working hours. It brings back ultimate use of my potentiality,” A sattar, a businessman told The New Nation (NN) Monday.
“Besides, rough humidity, swearing caused by the terrible gridlock also make people too tired to work more than one assignment in a day,” he added.
While replying a question to the NN Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mohammad Sayeed Khokon opined that the city corporation does not control the roads.
He also said that all the development agencies should be under one roof otherwise the situation would not improve.
“The government should immediately initiate to form a city government and all the development agencies including Traffic Department would bring under the jurisdiction of that government,” he added.
“Until the entities come under one roof, government would spent billions of money but the people will not be able to smell the flavor of ultimate return of the expenditure.”
Meanwhile, an Assistant Commissioner of Traffic Dhaka West said the department is trying hard to ensure smooth operation of vehicles in Dhaka roads but abnormal inflow of vehicles, uncoordinated development work like road cutting and illegal occupying of footpaths by political musclemen hindering their efforts.
“Our traffic personals are trying their label best to ensure better situation on the roads, but failed. Lone effort by the Traffic Department will not be able to make any impact to the worsening situation,” he added.
Meanwhile Dr. Mohammad Shakil Akther, Professor of Environmental Planning and Management, Urban Management and Governance of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said that Dhaka city has almost near to a unlivable city only due to government’s apathy to bring coordination among its’ entities.
“It seems like there is none to look after the worsening communicating situation of the capital. We have urged the government several times to initiate for making a master plan and start its’ implementation but we saw little progress of the proposals,” Shakil Akther said.
“It is too late. If we want to keep Dhaka livable, a master plan should immediately be taken and start implementation accordingly. Otherwise immense suffering is waiting for the nation,” Shakil cautioned.
However, according to statistics of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), More than 360 new vehicles, including buses and private cars, hit the streets in the capital every day.
Statistics of the BRTA show that a total of 54,788 vehicles were registered in the last five months from January. Currently, a total of 250,458 private cars are running on the city streets.
The demonstration by several hundred readymade garment workers to protest against sacking their fellow workers caused a serious traffic jam in city’s Mirpur and its surrounding areas on Monday.
The agitating workers clashed with police after blocking a key road in Mirpur 1 intersection, demanding reinstatement of the sacked workers, outstanding salaries and bonuses.
Witnesses said, workers of Meridian Fashions Limited occupied the street in front of the Sony Cinema Hall around 11:00am yesterday and vandalised several vehicles.
As a result, Mirpur and its adjoining areas were choked with hundred of buses, coaches and motor vehicles seriously worsening the situation.
The agitators were still on the street around 5:00pm, the police’s Deputy Commissioner (Mirpur division) Masud Alam told the media.
Police and locals said, Meridian Fashions Limited issued a notice on Sunday announcing the factory’s closure from Monday to Wednesday due to, what it called, an “illegal strike.”
The factory authorities also threatened to prolong the closure period if the situation did not improve.
As a result, a serious commotion was created among the agitating workers. Traffic situation on both sides of the Mirpur 2 intersection in front of Sony Cinema Hall worsened and ultimately the traffic jam spread to the entire city, causing immense sufferings to pedestrians and commuters.
Commuters traveling through the roads in the area stranded as the clash between the workers and cops led to the severe gridlock on the busy road causing untold sufferings to them.
Experts said, the nagging traffic congestion in the city roads has already reached to an alarming situation as top officials of government’s development agencies are playing blame game to solve the problems.
So the question arises who control the city road? Mayors or police!
The horrible situation made the city life miserable along with eating up valuable working hours of the people and bringing back the expected development of the country.
Movement from one place to another of five kilometer distance takes more or less two to three hours making the city life miserable.
Sufferers also claimed that the newly built multi-billion cost flyovers in the city also failed to make any impact to the fate of the commuters as long traffic congestions on the flyovers has also become a regular phenomenon of the city life.
A recent study by the World Bank says that vehicular movement in Dhaka city is gradually going toward zero speed.
Hour average speed of vehicle within the city was around 24km in 1994 and 17km in 2004 which came down to only 6km plus in 2016, studies carried out by different domestic and international agencies showed.
However, lack of coordination among the government’s development entities, unplanned urbanization and adaptation of development projects considering political gain blamed for the worsening situation.
Besides, huge inflow of new vehicles in city streets, uncoordinated development activities by government entities like DESA, WASA, Titas Gas, City Corporations, and other agencies have long been causing additional sufferings to the fate of vehicular movement in the city.
“I cannot do two works in a day as traffic congestion eats up all my working hours. It brings back ultimate use of my potentiality,” A sattar, a businessman told The New Nation (NN) Monday.
“Besides, rough humidity, swearing caused by the terrible gridlock also make people too tired to work more than one assignment in a day,” he added.
While replying a question to the NN Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mohammad Sayeed Khokon opined that the city corporation does not control the roads.
He also said that all the development agencies should be under one roof otherwise the situation would not improve.
“The government should immediately initiate to form a city government and all the development agencies including Traffic Department would bring under the jurisdiction of that government,” he added.
“Until the entities come under one roof, government would spent billions of money but the people will not be able to smell the flavor of ultimate return of the expenditure.”
Meanwhile, an Assistant Commissioner of Traffic Dhaka West said the department is trying hard to ensure smooth operation of vehicles in Dhaka roads but abnormal inflow of vehicles, uncoordinated development work like road cutting and illegal occupying of footpaths by political musclemen hindering their efforts.
“Our traffic personals are trying their label best to ensure better situation on the roads, but failed. Lone effort by the Traffic Department will not be able to make any impact to the worsening situation,” he added.
Meanwhile Dr. Mohammad Shakil Akther, Professor of Environmental Planning and Management, Urban Management and Governance of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said that Dhaka city has almost near to a unlivable city only due to government’s apathy to bring coordination among its’ entities.
“It seems like there is none to look after the worsening communicating situation of the capital. We have urged the government several times to initiate for making a master plan and start its’ implementation but we saw little progress of the proposals,” Shakil Akther said.
“It is too late. If we want to keep Dhaka livable, a master plan should immediately be taken and start implementation accordingly. Otherwise immense suffering is waiting for the nation,” Shakil cautioned.
However, according to statistics of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), More than 360 new vehicles, including buses and private cars, hit the streets in the capital every day.
Statistics of the BRTA show that a total of 54,788 vehicles were registered in the last five months from January. Currently, a total of 250,458 private cars are running on the city streets.
