Traffic jam in Dhaka life.......

Traffic jam in Dhaka life.......

I live in Dhaka, only 10 minutes away from my university; but I get out from my house about 1 hour before class will start. Because of terrible traffic jam, most of the time it takes about an hour to reach university. I remember a week, right after Eid-ul-Fitr Dhaka city was like half empty, at that week I went to university in 20 minutes.

Dhaka is a mega city. More than twelve million people live here. Day by day the number is increasing and most part of Dhaka is badly affected by the population growth. More than 7 hundred thousand rickshaws ply the city road, but only 75 thousand have legal number. This huge number of rickshaws is creating traffic jam. From time to time attempts are made to reduce the number, but the initiative usually produces no results. The number of rickshaw pullers is huge. Almost there are no roads or street or lane free from traffic jam.

The traffic congestion of the city of Dhaka has already gone beyond the forbearance of the city dwellers. It is getting acute day by day. Its solution calls for both short term and long term measures. Some short term steps can ease the existing traffic jam of the city.

In order to implement the long term policy it questions our affordability. So, let us think of short term policy first and side by side long term step to be thought of and let it happen gradually.
25 percent place should be for the movement and parking of vehicles in a city whereas Dhaka city has only 7 percent such place invoking a natural cause for being traffic jam. It is very practical that we don't have sufficient place for allowing the vehicles freely. Necessarily there will be some jam. But in absence of broad road and passages, some other alternative means was supposed to be devised to ease the jam but that was not done.

In all the busy points there must be foot over bridges and no pedestrians will be allowed to cross the roads where foot over bridges are constructed. All the news media, police, schools, market, garment workers all will get the message and briefing from their attached and concerned authorities to use foot over bridge. Many busy points of the city don't have foot over bridges. Pedestrians are to cross the road every minutes making the processions of vehicles stopped and stranded. Its effect spreads several miles. Again, there are many over bridges which are not used by the pedestrians because of habit, lack of awareness and law enforcement. From now on it must be made compulsory to use foot over bridges and the remaining crowd and busy point must see the immediate construction of foot over bridges.

All kinds of vehicles become seriously scarce during office hour and after the break up of the offices. The number of vehicles and their capacity prove far less than the existing population of Dhaka city. Commuters not only fail their appointment but also wait for long to have a transport. To avail even a rickshaw a commuter is to wait a lot and bargain with many rickshawpullers. In case of CNG and taxi cab the situation stand far worse. In this situation, lessening the number of vehicles from the city roads will in no way ease the problem of the city dwellers. Rather it will invite several new problems including the existing ones. Rather law should be strictly enfored that rickshawas , CNGs and taxi-cabs must move according to the commuter's desire. Traffic police and sergeants must take extra care for it and take necessary steps to implement it.No CNG; no rickshaw will be allowed to wait in a particular place for long. This situation goes on in big cities like London and Beijing. No taxi cab stand in a particular place for long. Fair should be fixed by the authorities concerned which will be displayed in all the possible and available ways and venues so that all sorts of people can learn it very easily. There will be no haggling and bargaining with the CNG, taxi drivers and rickshaw pullers. Barging with them and their desire not to go without their chosen places cause serious traffic jam and untold miseries to millions of commuters.

For the last several years Dhaka city has experienced some good city bus service with ticket counters stationed in various spots of the city. It's far better than picking up passengers whenever and wherever they like. Passengers enjoy this facility very much and have lessened the burden and dependence of rickshaws. But some peculiar things sometimes happen. To ease the traffic jam, traffic police sometimes removes these bus counters on the plea that they cause problems to the pedestrians and traffic jam. Actually, these ticket counters offer much civic facilities to the city dwellers. Ticket counters because a little bit problems to the pedastrians, it's true but its return is greater than this little problem. So, these counters should not be abolished under any false pretext. This kind of bus service makes the people civic and disciplined. This culture has been imported from western countries just several years back. We must extend this facility throughout the city.

Every year traffic jam claims national loss amounting to 15000 taka and 4000 happen every year. In order to find their real solution, both long term and short term measures must be taken. But long term strategy will claim a huge expenditure which becomes really beyond our means. But short term could be implemented employing much less expenditure and effort. Let us try to implement the suggested measures through our concerted efforts.