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Traffic on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway has been at a standstill for two consecutive days, leaving passengers stranded across a 34km stretch from Ashuganj roundabout in Brahmanbaria to Madhabpur in Habiganj.
The congestion, which began around 2am on Wednesday, continued through Thursday evening.
Highway Police said large potholes at the Bishwa Road roundabout in Sarail Upazila triggered the traffic bottleneck, forcing vehicles to slow down or stop. Army personnel were also seen on the highway.
Police from Sarail and Khatihata highway stations have been deployed to keep traffic moving, said Jahangir Alam, chief of Khatihata Highway Police.
An in-person visit showed countless potholes around the Bishwa Road roundabout, with three-quarters of the area rendered unusable.
Long-haul buses and trucks were forced to halt, worsening the traffic.
Witnesses said the jam spread from Ashuganj to Sarail, eventually stretching to Madhabpur in Habiganj. At times, congestion spilled over to the Cumilla-Sylhet Highway and Sarail-Nasirnagar-Lakhai regional highway.
Hundreds of passengers were seen walking to their destinations as buses and trucks remained stuck.
“I was at Chandura at 2am. Now it’s 11am and I’m still stuck at Bishwa Road,” said Kamal Hossain, a driver at Labiba Paribahan.
“It feels like we are being held hostage. If only the road was fixed properly, traffic could move.”
Nasim Mia, a resident of Paharpur union in Bijoynagar, said: “I was supposed to carry glass products from Dhaka. After waiting for two hours at Bishwa Road, I returned home.”
By Thursday evening, police admitted they were struggling to clear the gridlock. Rainwater filled the potholes, which intensified traffic.
Jahangir explained that although the ditches are regularly filled with bricks, the rain turns them into puddles of mud and sand.
Shamim Ahmed, director of the Ashuganj-Akhaura four-lane project, said Tk 1.63 billion has recently been allocated to address the issue.
“The problem has been resolved at the policy level. We expect the work to be completed within the next two months,” he added.