JAM-PACKED STREETS: City struggles with severe congestion woes
Shahariar Islam Sovon :
“City dwellers have been facing immense suffering due to long traffic congestion, caused by a lack of traffic management, inadequate public transport, and high population density, all of which hamper people’s valuable time.”
Traffic jams are a nightmare for the residents of Dhaka.
And the government has kept trying to save its citizens from this nightmare for many years by taking many initiatives like flyovers, crossings, water buses, and now, the Dhaka Metro Rail.
Dhaka’s roads suffer from potholes, uneven surfaces, and lack of maintenance, which not only slow down traffic but also contribute to accidents and further congestion.
Experts told The New Nation that Dhaka’s rapid population growth and economic development have led to an increase in the number of vehicles on the road, further exacerbating congestion.
As the population and vehicles of the city increased the number and extent of roads have not increased compared to that.
Despite the increase in the number of vehicles in the city due to lack of proper planning, the public transport crisis is acute.
The number of public transport and the quality of service have increased and the anarchy in this sector has not stopped.
Most of the vehicles take the right side of the road instead of left during waterlogging problems According to the public transport drivers, they try to avoid the left side of the road as much as possible.
Usually, the sewers fall along the left side of the road. According to the data of the World Bank, due to traffic congestion, vehicles are moving at an average speed of about seven kilometers per hour in the capital.
If this continues, after a few days people will be able to walk in front of the car.
If the number of vehicles continues to grow at the same rate and no measures are taken to curb it, then in 2025, the speed of vehicles in this city will be four kilometers per hour, which is less than the walking speed of people.
According to research conducted by Democracy International, more than 6% of the population owns private vehicles, which occupy 76% of Dhaka roadways.
On average, a private car contains two to three people, which almost takes the road space of a bus, which can carry at least a few dozen people.
The centralized administration system is also responsible for this situation.
The pressure on the capital has increased due to the fact that most of the important government institutions of the country have their headquarters in Dhaka.