Illegal parking worsens traffic situation
Mechanics are busy installing parts in a car on the busy Sheikh Mujib Road, leaving little room for the vehicular movement. Photo: STAR
It was a hectic afternoon at the busy Sheikh Mujib Road on Sunday when everyone was rushing towards home after office. Salahuddin, a driver, suddenly parked his car almost on the middle of the busy road near a motor parts shop to change seat covers without caring that such an illegal parking might create serious gridlock. Like this, a number of vehicles for installing parts remain parked all the day occupying a good portion on both the sides of the road stretching from Dewanhat to Choumuhani where over 200 motor parts shops are located. When asked about the public suffering due to parking Salahuddin paid little attention to the matter. Two on-duty traffic constables in front of Dewanhat Fire Service preferring anonymity said their daylong efforts for maintaining smooth vehicular movement on the road have become fruitless for this type of whimsical and illegal parking. The two constables blamed the traffic sergeants as they hardly take action against illegal parking. Illegal parking on the road has been creating congestion everyday from Tigerpass to Barik Building Moor, a distance of around two kilometres. On-road parking of vehicles is one of the main reasons behind serious traffic congestion on different parts of the port city including GEC, Muradpur, CDA Avenue, OR Nizam Road, Zakir Hossain Road, Station Road, Dhaka Trunk Road, Madarbari, Shuvapur Bus Stand, EPZ intersection and Olankar. The situation has worsened from the very beginning of the Ramadan with poor traffic management by the traffic department of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP). Pointing to the acute shortage of manpower, Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Md Mainul Islam said they have already taken some initiatives like mobile court operations with the help of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) against violation of traffic rules. Commuters fear a further more bitter experience ahead of the Eid-Ul-Fitre in the upcoming days when vehicular and public mobility will increase. Minhaj, a service holder, said usually the traffic congestion starts troubling the city dwellers since the middle of Ramadan but this time it emerged too early. He stressed immediate initiatives by the traffic department to help commuters get rid of the acute gridlock before the Eid shopping gets momentum. Commuters suffer in many of the city's busy parts since the office and school time at 9.00am due to acute gridlock. The traffic department has now only 40 sergeants, out of 66 approved posts, to handle the situation. Sources said 16 posts of traffic sergeants remained vacant in the CMP for long while the rest 10 officers are on leave or have been transferred. Mainul said CMP has appointed members of community police at shopping malls and markets in order to help the regular law enforcing agency carve crimes as well as to ease traffic congestion in the adjoining areas of the markets. We have decided to take help from other agencies like Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) from September 10 for maintaining traffic system ahead of Eid.
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