TDS Desk:

Commuters in Dhaka had to suffer due to heavy traffic on most routes while going to their workplaces this morning as educational institutions opened after months of being closed.

Although traffic police are back on the streets, the office-goers suffered heavily on the first working day as most of the city roads were full of vehicles, including cars, buses, bikes and CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

According to some of the commuters, the reason behind such traffic congestion could be due to the opening of educational institutions and the full-fledged operations of public and private offices.

Sadia Rahman, a journalist who commutes from Banani to Eskaton on a daily basis, said, “I started for my office at 9:15am. It usually takes 30-40 minutes to reach my office at Eskaton, but Sunday it took me almost one and a half hours as I reached there at 10:45am.”

“There was unbearable traffic on the street leading from Jahangir Gate to Bangla Motor,” she added.

Asif Mahmud, an official of a private bank, made a comparison between the traffic handling by police and the students and said that the situation was better when the students were in charge.

“It took me 30 minutes to cross the Moghbazar Rail Gate from Hatirjheel. I used to move easily when the students were managing traffic on the streets. Since the takeover by police last week, I’m now getting stuck at every point for 10-15 minutes, and it’s delaying my arrival at the office by almost an hour,” Asif said.

According to traffic division sources, vehicles were moving slowly in Uttara, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Motijheel, Fakirapul and Shantinagar areas. Also, there was traffic congestion from Notun Bazar to Jamuna Future Park in Bashundhara area.

“There was a pressure of Dhaka-bound vehicles since the morning, which resulted into traffic congestion in Uttara. The situation will improve with time,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Uttara Division of Traffic Police Kamruzzaman told that.

Assistant Commissioner of Traffic’s Badda Zone Shuvo Ghosh mentioned the opening of educational institutions as the reason behind the traffic jam, saying, “Traffic situation has deteriorated due to construction works on various roads of the city.”