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Traffic Jam: The Endless Waiting Line
Eshan Maitra
So the other day, I wanted to check on the google map, how long it might take to travel from Dhaka Shadarghat to Uttara. Just out of curiosity. Since, the trip was kind of like traveling from one corner of Dhaka city to another. Then google replied me, it would take approximately 1 hour 17 minutes to journey average of 27 kilometers. Man, after reading this, I haven’t laughed like that for days! Once, it took me 1 hour plus just to cross Science-Lab, on the bus that I took at Azimpur. Heck, that is just 1 km distance. I bet all of us can go on and on with all our frustrating traffic stories. Let’s investigate the things causes this.
A new form traffic jam occurs these days when some honorable someone has to visit somewhere. Well, okay. I get it. The person might be very important and might get ambushed by the sworn rival parties or enemies. But common! Why roadblocks? Couldn’t a helicopter do the job? Have you ever had to catch your office at 10 am on Sunday, that you had get to by crossing the Banglamotor-Farmgate road. Then, you must have known how painful it is to wake up at 6 and get the first bus on that route possible. Else you are punished to sweat like a pig in front of the Bashundhara City for an hour or two. I respect, any other honorable persons working hard and running our country. But please, take some route that does not crisscross the rush hour route. Even take helicopters if possible. Will save both of you and lot other people from countless waiting.
Oh back to that miserable Azimpur to New-Market road. It such a short distance. But you wouldn’t believe what kind of things happen on the way. No, not mentioning the Eden College footpath. Thanks to the authorities for cleaning the place. Nice tiles on the walls by the road. Now only if they could kindly take the huge enforcers. Also, remember the advertisement about traffic by the third genders. What about them? Since, police are failing to control the traffic, it is about time the traffic controllers get a whole new division full of new people. Then putting the right people, even if odd, at the right places. Our authorities also mentioned about working on such project, but the idea is still in the waiting lobby.
Speaking of right places, have you ever seen a market inside its boundary? Except the shopping malls. But any other classic Bangladeshi markets or bazars are always crossing over to streets, to foot-paths, and even to foot-over bridges. I literally think that, you can buy all your necessary clothes and accessories right from the Farmgate foot-over. From tattoo stickers, lingerie to dresses. I hate those hawkers on the foot-path. People are forced to take the side of the roads to walk. Since, there is not much space to walk there. Specially it becomes a struggle there forr ladies for some specific rascals. That topic for another day. These hawker stands, and even the caravans or carriages take up half of the roads. There is absolutely no extra loading-unloading space at any bazar. Resulting in, huge road quarrels over space. Just visit Kawranbazar or Chakbazar someday. Also causing huge traffic conundrum. ‘If the carriages move to make ways for some vehicles to pass through, they will have to block their own path.’ That also feeds to our biggest Bengali problem. ‘I have to go first!’ These kind of intentions make two vehicles forced to pass through a single exit space and causing a blockage. Even the traffic polices give up at such points. Kawran Bazar, New Market, Uttara Roads, Mogbazar, Rod Market and others at Shadarghat to Gulisthan route etc. are the hot-spot for these annoyance. The waiting times to get out of these sticky spots in the rush hours are awful!
Let alone government cannot solve all these. First the initiatives might be raising our own voices against the irregularities. But then, we have to keep our end of the bargain and follow through the traffic rules. There are countless foot-over now, but we still try to cross by jay-walking in heavy traffic. Don’t do that, it slows down traffic rhythm. Little that green-light time-lapse the traffics get, let it be used properly. Before you make the driver angry on the bus, remember he already aware of his responsibility to keeping his passengers safe. Don’t pressure him to make a complicated mistake The only shout-out to the Government here would be, please finish the Mogbazar fly-over asap. The Mohakhali one was not good enough, and also not long enough (just like the Batman Vs Superman movie). Could be better if it was extended. The route to Uttara or Gulshan from the south part of the city still is a traffic pain. Bus routes and car routes could be separated. Mostly the biggest step would be if people were more encouraged to walk or start using bicycle, and there were resting booths with free clean water supple. Even the old world Nawabs knew that was a great idea. The vicious cycle of hate and the habit of snatching ‘it’ before others should also stop. We should work together to bring harmony at a traffic line. Much like any other big-cities around the world. Dhaka also has a never ending traffic-jam waiting line, just bit messier and about time to be tidy up by the help of us all.