Long traffic tailback on Benapole roads every day

Traffic congestion has become a regular phenomenon at Benapole, the largest land port in the country, due to mismanagement on the roads.

Locals say that buses and trucks parked on the road cause traffic jams for up to two kilometres from the Benapole International Check-post. There has been traffic congestion from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm every day for the last month.

This has led to serious suffering for traders and those travelling to India. Students and locals are also facing difficulties due to the gridlock.

The Benapole Municipality spent millions to construct a truck and bus terminal, but no one uses it, traders said. Most drivers park their vehicles in one row, or two rows on the Dhaka-Kolkata highway.

Hence, intolerable traffic jams remain near the Benapole Land Port and market area every day except for holidays. However, the administration and municipal authorities have paid no heed to complaints.

“Traffic jams are created as long-haul buses are parked along the highway. The administration could have monitored this and ensured that the buses run from the terminal,” said Bablur Rahman Babu, president of the Benapole Transport Manager Association.

“Traffic jams will ease if all buses start from the terminal instead of the check-post.”

The roads were in disarray as the traffic was not controlled, believes Azim Uddin Gazi, general secretary of the Benapole Transport Agency Owners Association.

“Drivers of the goods-laden and empty Bangladeshi trucks are repeatedly told not to park the trucks beside the roads. They never listen. Our local drivers cause more trouble,” he said.

“Other drivers park their vehicles at the terminal but local drivers park them on the roads and cause traffic jams. We used megaphones to request them not to park the trucks on the roads, but they were not bothered. Now, only the administration can move the trucks from the roads to the terminal.”

Muslimuddin Pappu, president of the Jashore Minibus Owners Association, acknowledges that mismanagement has gripped the roads. However, he claims the local buses are not responsible for the traffic congestion.

“Our local buses stay far away from the Benapole market area at a designated place fixed by the municipality. Buses at the Benapole-Jashore route are not causing any traffic jams.”

He also said that bus owners have to pay Tk 250,000 to the municipal corporation to get a counter at the terminal and also pay a monthly rent of Tk 3,000.

“We charge passengers Tk 5, to Tk 10; we can’t afford to pay such a large amount to get a counter at the terminal.”

The bus owners’ leader said that the terminal had some infrastructural problems. They did not park their buses at the terminal as it lacked security for passengers. However, they would not mind parking their buses at the terminal if there was a combined initiative.

The traffic congestion issue was not getting addressed as the municipal corporation remained quiet about it, said Motiar Rahman, director of Bangladesh India Chamber of Commerce.

“A bus terminal has been constructed at Benapole at a cost of Tk 160 million, but hundreds of local and long-haul buses don’t go to the terminal. The buses are washed just beside the highway. The municipal corporation doesn’t take any steps against it. Hence, Benapole is not getting rid of traffic jams,” he said.

Besides financial losses, the traffic jams were leading to the suffering of international passengers, Motiar said.

“Due to the traffic jams, the trucks are loaded in the morning but they leave the Benapole Port at night. We, the traders, are facing huge financial loss,” he said.

“Around 5,000 to 6,000 passengers travel between India and Bangladesh through the Benapole check-post every day. It takes two hours for the passengers to reach the check-post only one and a half kilometres away from Benapole.”

“After I took charge of the Benapole Municipal Corporation, the first thing I heard was about the traffic jams. And the case, I discovered, was that buses and trucks were parked along the roads instead of the terminal,” said Sujon Sarkar, municipal commissioner in Benapole.

“Soon, we’ll talk to the Upazila administration traders associations in Benapole, port customs, bus and truck owners associations and arrange to send the buses and trucks to the terminal.”