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Published : 06 Jun 2025, 02:55 PM
A broken-down lorry has caused heavy traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in Gazipur’s Chandana Chowrasta area.
Although the lorry was removed after about an hour, traffic remained stalled for at least another hour on Friday morning.
Around 7am, long lines of stationary vehicles could be seen at the Vogra Bypass intersection and Chandana Chawrasta.
Passengers, exhausted from the heat, got off their buses and stood by the roadside, looking ahead at the endless queue of vehicles.
As people head home for Eid-ul-Azha celebrations with their families, many are facing delays and discomfort along the way.
Although the holiday rush began a few days ago, the last day before Eid saw an overwhelming surge in traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways. Vehicles moved slowly, with traffic jams occurring repeatedly.
Abul Kalam, a Netrokona-bound passenger travelling with his 5-year-old child on a Netra Paribahan bus, set out around 4am. By 7am, they were stuck in a jam at the Vogra Bypass.
"The bus has been stuck for 40 minutes," Kalam said.
“My child couldn’t take the heat anymore and started crying, so we stepped out and stood by the road.”
Ahmed Ali, returning from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Dhaka with a patient in an ambulance, was caught in the jam on the Vogra flyover. They were stuck in the same spot for 40 minutes.
Frustrated, he said: "When will we be free from this suffering? The patient is feeling worse from being stuck in the heat for so long.”
Akram Hossain, a poultry trader, was bringing chickens to Dhaka from Mymensingh in a pickup truck. He said he encountered the jam 4km before reaching Chandana Chowrasta. "About 20 of my chickens have already died. Yesterday, I lost 18 more due to the same reason."
Elsewhere, a 12-km stretch from Cherag Ali in the north of Tongi’s Station Road to Telipara in Chandana was clogged with vehicles.
Motorcyclists in Chandana Chowrasta were also ferrying passengers. One of them, Jony, said: “Even with the jams on Thursday, we could still get through with passengers. But this morning, the situation is so bad that you can't cross Chandana Chowrasta even without carrying anyone.”
A long line of vehicles was also seen from Mouchak to Chandra intersection in Kaliakoir. Since dawn, people heading home have been gathering at various points along the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways. Many are hopping onto trucks, pickups, or any available transport to reach their destinations.
Anwar Hossain, a garment factory worker from Palli Bidyut in Kaliakoir, said: “I came to Chandra by autorickshaw on Friday morning to go to my village home in Bogura. There are thousands of passengers here, but no available buses or vehicles. I don’t know when I’ll get a ride or reach home.”
Abul Kashem, a bus driver from Rangpur, said buses that left Gazipur for the north on Thursday faced severe traffic on both sides of the Kaliakoir-Chandra intersection, Tangail, and the Jamuna Bridge. As a result, it took longer than expected to reach their destinations. The return journey to Gazipur also took much longer.
At 12:45pm on Friday, Gazipur Metropolitan Police’s Traffic (South) Assistant Commissioner AKM Asaduzzaman said there was still heavy traffic around Chandana Chowrasta, but it might ease in about an hour.
Traffic Inspector Md Akhtaruzzaman said massive crowds of holiday travellers and vehicles had built up on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway near Chandana Chowrasta.
Nawjor Highway Police Station chief Saugatul Alam said the volume of traffic surged on Thursday afternoon after factories closed for Eid, especially in Mouchak, Chandra intersection, and Safipur. Similar conditions persisted on Friday morning, with high vehicle density.
Inspector Tarikul Islam of the Gazipur Metropolitan Police’s Traffic Division said traffic was slow at Chandana Chowrasta due to heavy passenger pressure since early morning.
