Many break fast on roads as first working day in Ramadan unleashes traffic nightmare

The first working day in Ramadan, which began on Friday, has so far been stressful for commuters, who faced seemingly never-ending gridlocks in the capital's roads.

Many had to break their fast sitting in buses, cars, autorickshaws or by the roads. Those unprepared had to settle for sips of water.

Taslima Ahmed, who was travelling from Mohammadpur to Eskaton, said she was stuck in front of the Karwan Bazar intersection for 45 minutes.

"I don't know how they can hold up a signal for so long," she complained.

"As it's the first working day of Ramadan, we're facing immense pressure on the roads. We are working on the ground now to keep the wheels of Dhaka city running," said Tareq Sekandar, assistant commissioner (traffic), Sher-e Banglanagar zone of DMP.

On the popular Facebook page "Traffic Alert", users were making posts on the traffic issue since early morning.

Commentators highlighted the lack of proper enforcement of traffic laws, U-turns and footover bridges placed without proper consideration, among other issues, as key reasons behind the congestion.

Posts were not only restricted to the capital, but also from different highways, which also saw an increased incidence of gridlocks.

Many advised leaving offices just before or after iftar.

Ahsan Bari, a private employee, decided to stay back at work till after iftar, even though his duty ended at 3:30pm.

"I have checked Google Maps. All roads were blocked. There would be no point sitting in traffic in this heat," he said.

One of the worst traffic was seen around the Mohakhali bus stand, where commuters had to wait for hours while crossing the bus terminal from Tejgaon and Banani areas, said commuters.

Buses were parked on both sides of the road, narrowing those and making it difficult for vehicles to navigate smoothly.

Many were seen getting off buses and going on foot, instead of toiling away in traffic.

Job holder Jasmine Nahar said it takes her two hours to travel from Moghbazar to Mahakhali. 

Expressing her frustration with the traffic congestion, she said that traffic congestion was expected on the first working day of Ramadan. But the severity was unexpectable which ultimately exposed the city corporation's incapacity. 

Earlier on Thursday, the Traffic Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)  recommended city-dwellers to walk instead of using rickshaws, CNG, or buses, for short distance travel.

The DMP authorities issued various traffic control measures in order to avoid any untoward incident in the capital during the month of Ramadan.

Inter-district and long-distance buses in Dhaka will not occupy the part of the main road adjacent to the terminal, the DMP authorities had also said.