Long tailback at Elenga

Passengers have been suffering a lot as hundreds of vehicles on Dhaka-Tangail highway remained stuck in a long tailback for the last two days due to road-widening work at Elenga, some 13 kilometers away from the east end of the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge in Tangail.

The vehicles have remained stuck in a 10-km tailback stretching from Rabna bypass in Tangail Sadar upazila to Analiabari area in Kalihati upazila since Friday morning and it continued as of filing of this report around 7:30pm yesterday.

Traffic Inspector Shahidur Rahman in the area said the road work at Elenga Bus Stand has left one lane shut. Besides, huge pressure of vehicles on the road due to the weekly holydays was another reason behind the traffic congestion.

Saidur Rahman, driver of a passenger bus, said it usually took 10 minutes to cross the area but now it is taking at least one to two hours to pass the area.

Ashraful Islam, passenger of a Pabna-bound bus, said apart from the traffic jam, huge amount of dust on the road increased their sufferings.    

Amimul Ehsan, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Tangail, said the two-lane extension work is going on and it will need 20 more days to complete the work.

No traffic jam will remain in Elenga after completion of the road work, he said. 

Rafiqul Islam, traffic inspector (administration) in Tangail, said the traffic congestion turns acute at night due to movement of a large number of trucks. 

However, they were trying their best to ease the traffic congestion, he added.