Poor management of traffic system

The interim government has apparently failed to bring about any perceptible change in the atrocious traffic congestion and road safety.  On the contrary, the city's traffic situation appears to have worsened as Dhaka has literally become a city of road blockades. Since the government assumed office, hardly a day has passed without protesters occupying major roads and intersections over one demand or another. In a city as densely packed as Dhaka, the closure of even a single key artery is enough to trigger widespread chaos and bring daily life to a standstill. Compounding the crisis, unauthorised auto-rickshaws continue to ply main roads while footpaths and roadsides are routinely occupied, further choking traffic flow. The result is a daily commuting nightmare for city dwellers, with several major areas including Jatrabari, Shahbagh, New Market, Farmgate, Mohakhali and Badda areas witnessing severe traffic snarls that last for hours. Regrettably, the authorities remain indifferent to this grave problem that city dwellers grapple with daily.

Traffic congestion in the capital has become far too complex a problem to be resolved quickly. Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, suffers from a chronic shortage of road space relative to the growing number of vehicles. While a megacity should ideally allocate around 25 per cent of its total area to roads, Dhaka has barely 8.0 per cent. A decisive breakthrough, therefore, cannot be expected overnight. That said, addressing more immediate and manageable problems such as road blockades, unfit vehicles, unrestricted movement of auto-rickshaws on the main roads and the occupation of footpaths should not be beyond the capacity of the authorities. It should also not be difficult to put an end to the dangerous practice of issuing forged driving licences that make roads unsafe. Strict enforcement of law and effective public awareness campaigns could at least alleviate the traffic congestion and make the roads safer. But the authorities' laissez-faire attitude in this regard is regrettable, to say the least.

The government should also have paid due attention to some of the long-term solutions suggested by experts. It is worth mentioning that in late 2024, following Chief Adviser's request, experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Dhaka Traffic Congestion Relief Committee submitted 11 proposals to the interim government aimed at easing traffic congestion in Dhaka. These proposals included renovating canals to create waterways, constructing a circular road around the city, relocating inter-district bus terminals and building an overhead railway line from Kamalapur Railway Station to Tongi. Experts had also recommended implementing a franchise-based bus-route regulation system to bring about discipline in the public transport network. Surprisingly, all these proposals have been shelved. While some effort was made to introduce the franchise bus-route system under Dhaka Nagar Paribahan, it proved futile due to non-cooperation from private bus operators. Increased share of the public sector in the transport system could be an effective way to curb the dominance of private bus operators. 

There is no doubt that matters must improve in several areas with the introduction of a modern traffic management system. As for now, with the tenure of the government nearing its end, the authorities could focus on controlling auto-rickshaws, ensuring uninterrupted traffic flow, constructing small alternative roads, keeping footpaths free from encroachment, and encouraging both drivers and pedestrians to follow traffic rules. Success in these areas would undoubtedly make the city's roads faster and safer. There is no scope to remain indifferent to people's sufferings.