Eid travel: 12 traffic jam 'hotspots' marked in Cumilla on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway

As many as 12 points in the Cumilla section on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, one of the busiest highways in the country, have been identified as potential points of concern for traffic congestion for Eid holidaymakers this year.

Homebound travellers may face delays on the 104-kilometre stretch of the highway from Daudkandi's Meghna-Gomti Bridge toll plaza to Chouddagram's Amzader Bazar, including the Bypass and Choumuhoni Bazar areas as well as the bus stands.

The Roads and Highways Department, Highway Police and the district administration have vowed to ensure hassle-free Eid travel for all after considering these potential traffic congestion points.

Md Khairul Alam, police superintendent of Highway Police’s Cumilla region said: “We’ve taken measures in advance to address the traffic jams at the 12 ‘hotspots’ already identified. We hope there’ll be no trouble with traffic congestion.”

Drivers of public transport on the highway, passengers, and locals said they have faced traffic congestion throughout the year due to the three-wheelers using the highway illegally, haphazard parking, indiscriminate passenger pick-up and drop-off, traffic moving in the wrong direction, jaywalking, illegal structures on the road, the slow processing pace at the toll plazas, and road accidents.

The traffic on the highway increases substantially during the two Eid holidays as more people travel to their village homes. The rush causes congestion and difficulties for travellers.

The highway is used as the direct route between Chattogram port and Dhaka; from Chattogram and Dhaka to the southeastern districts of Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Feni, Chandpur; and between Dhaka and Brahmanbaria, and Sylhet.

On average, 25,000 passenger and freight vehicles travel on the highway per day, according to officials.

This figure doubles when people travel to their hometowns or village homes during the Eid holidays.

At least four points in Daudkandi Upazila have been identified as potential points for traffic jams.

The most significant one is the Gouripur Bazar and Meghna-Gomti Bridge Toll Plaza. The traffic congestion is often severe at these two points before and after Eid.

Alimul Haque, a bus driver for Asia Line Paribahan on the Dhaka-Cumilla route said: “I’m sure there’ll be traffic jams at the toll plaza before Eid. But if the traffic jam lingers and the vehicles turn around or try to use the opposite lane, it will make things worse. Even if the police want them to, vehicles can’t move from one place to another. Traffic jams also start when pedestrians don’t use the overhead footbridge.”

“During Eid, if one vehicle stops, 10 more queue up behind it within a minute.”

After Daudkandi, Chandina Upazila’s Madhaiya and Chandina Bazar-Bagur points are the most prone to heavy traffic.

People travelling to Debidewar from Chandina Bazar jaywalk at those points, slowing down the vehicles on the road.

Local buses, cars, and autorickshaws also operate at those points, with indiscriminate passenger pick-up and drop-off, creating traffic jams.

The same issues prevail at Eliotganj and Shahidnagar, slowing down long-haul vehicles.

Locals say Nimsar Bazar in the Burichang area can also be a place of concern for Eid travellers, locals.

The presence of the biggest kitchen market in the country on the highway causes congestion even during regular travel. During Eid holidays, when the traffic increases exponentially, the location may be a hotspot for severe traffic congestion.

In particular, many trucks carrying vegetables are loaded and unloaded at this point in the night, hindering the normal traffic flow.

Zakir Hossain, a resident of Nimsar says: “Trucks full of vegetables come here from different districts. They create jams on the road when not parked properly. Hence, the police and Bazar committee should prepare beforehand so that the trucks don’t stay on the road.”

“The highway should be free of illegal shops to ensure normal traffic flow at the Nimsar area. We’re focusing on it before Eid. Police members will be on duty 24 hours a day during the Eid holidays,” said Moinamati Highway Police Station chief Iqbal Bahar.

Traffic also slows in the Moinamati Cantonment area on the highway as well.

Vehicles going to Sylhet from Chattogram use the point of the highway as a bypass. Also, three-wheelers, local microbuses and buses slow down to pick-up and drop-off passengers in the area.

Traffic movement and traffic jams are also seen at Paduarbazar area on the highway at Sadar Dakkhin Upazila during the Eid holidays.

Vehicles going to Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Chandpur enter the Cumilla-Noakhali Regional Highway at Paduarbazar point. Currently, construction work is ongoing on a railway overpass and a U-loop construction in the area. Therefore, people may expect traffic jams at Paduarbazar.

Passengers and drivers also expect traffic jams at the Suagazi Bazar area in the same Upazila as the kitchen market in the area is situated adjacent to the highway.

Amir Hossain, a bus driver for Upakul Paribahan on the Noakhali route says: "I have to enter Noakhali from Cumilla by crossing the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway. Too many vehicles are there during the Eid holidays. Traffic jams occur in any direction where the vehicles stop. This problem will persist until the U-loop is constructed. I think it will be helpful if police are available during the Eid holidays."

Banker Ishtiaq Ahmed, who travels regularly on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, said some parts of the highway were undergoing repair work. U-loop construction was ongoing in the Paduarbazar and Cantonment areas, he said, adding that authorities must ensure no traffic jams at those points.

Meanwhile, Chouddagram's Miabazar and Chouddagram Bazar may also cause suffering for Eid holidaymakers.

Both places have autorickshaw stands, shops on the road and vehicles stopping to pick-up and drop-off passengers, hindering normal traffic movement.

However, Cumilla Deputy Commissioner Md Amirul Kaiser warned that “every measure will be taken” to ensure a traffic jam-free Dhaka-Chattogram Highway during the Eid holidays. He spoke at a meeting of Cumilla Road Security Committee focused on road monitoring issues during the Eid holidays.

He urged everyone to try their best so people do not face difficulties while travelling on Cumilla roads.

"We recommended the formation of road security and monitoring teams in every Upazila to ensure no one suffers while travelling on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, Cumilla-Sylhet Highwayand Cumilla-Noakhali Regional Highway in Eid," he said.

"Each of the coordinated teams will consist of an executive magistrate, police members, Highway Police members, representatives of the Roads and Highways Department, the Bus Owners and Workers Association, and volunteers holding ID cards."

Two quick response teams will be available with wreckers, medical teams and volunteers at Suagazi and Chandina on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.

"There will be no trouble on the highway if the coordinated teams of Highway Police, police, administration and volunteers work together," said SP Khairul Alam of Highway Police.

"We've got an additional 250 police personnel. Alongside them our regular policemen will ensure normal traffic flow and safety of the people travelling on the highway during the Eid holidays," the SP said.

Cumilla Police Superintendent Nazir Ahmed Khan said unfit vehicles and drivers without license may cause traffic jams and road accidents. Police will institute additional monitoring of those areas prone to traffic jams. They will also work to prevent robberies and muggings on the highway, he said.

The Cumilla administration's road security committee has decided to set up special monitoring at the Kangshanagar point on the Cumilla -Sylhet Highway and Bagmara point of Cumilla-Noakhali Highway.

The committee also urged the Bazar Committee leaders to remove illegal structures at the markets adjacent to the highway.

Authorities were requested to delay the repair work of a bridge in the Companiganj area on the Cumilla-Sylhet Highway to ease the hassle for Eid travellers.

In addition, locals have drawn the attention of the Roads and Highways Department to ensure U-loop construction work in the Paduarbazar and Moinamati Cantonment areas do not cause any obstruction on the road.

However, Golam Mostafa, executive engineer of the Cumilla Roads and Highways Department, said that the construction work was almost at an end and there was no chance to delay them.

However, he said the road repair work would not cause any hindrance to Eid travel.