Traffic congestion is now an embarrassment not only for the capital but also for the nation. This terrible problem is stopping the progress of the country. The delays due to traffic jams are devastating to the economy. This problem is affecting productivity. It is making the country's export trade uncertain. Foreigners see the capital of Bangladesh differently due to traffic jams. It can be said that traffic congestion is one of the reasons why foreign investment is being hampered in Bangladesh.
The Dhaka metropolis with a population of around one and a half crore has already emerged as one of the megacities in the world. Although the term 'megacity' is considered a source of pride, Dhaka has been identified as one of the top problem cities in the world due to various problems including traffic congestion.
There is no limit to the loss and suffering due to traffic jam in the capital Dhaka. Exactly how much economic loss is being faced, how many working hours are being wasted, how much people are suffering, various researches are going on. Besides, various attempts are being made to solve it. But success is not coming in anything.
Despite so much concern about traffic jams in Dhaka, there is still no way to get rid of it. On the contrary, the roads are getting narrower day by day. Slow and fast moving vehicles ply on the roads of Dhaka, i.e. rickshaws, wheelbarrows, motor vehicles. There is no such system anywhere in the world. That is why terrible traffic jams are a constant companion of the city dwellers. Now the city dwellers are frustrated by the traffic jam. It would not be wrong to say that the catastrophic traffic congestion has turned this metropolis of more than one and a half crore people into a stagnant city.
The amount of roads in a city should be 25 percent. However, the total number of roads in Dhaka is only 6 percent of the area. If planned measures are taken, it is possible to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka despite having 6 percent roads. Kolkata was once more congested than Dhaka. The traffic congestion in Kolkata is now less than in Dhaka. Roads in London-Singapore are also less than the size. But there is no traffic jam in these two cities. 90% of Hong Kong people use public transport. The main reason for traffic jam in Dhaka is lack of proper urban management system. RAJUK, DESA, WASA, DESCO have been in Dhaka at different times. There is nothing to look at their work separately. These need proper coordination. Everything was developed separately and there was no benefit in working without coordination.
Traffic congestion problems will not be solved overnight. Another reason for the unresolved issue is population density. About 500 people live per acre in Dhaka, compared to 25-30 in New York. The population density is increasing.
Excessive immigration is also responsible for traffic jams. People from every part of the country come to the capital every day in search of work. Dhaka has become a completely economically dependent city. The government's plans have no way to stop this immigration. No matter how much we talk about infrastructure development and the law, everything has its limitations. At any stage, there will be traffic jams, if the number of people can not be kept at a tolerable level. This requires decentralization. In a city with a large population, three types of transportation are needed Ñ surface, elevator, and underground. We only have the surface here. This is not a picture of a big city. We also have to think about the subway to reduce traffic congestion. But everything has to be done by checking the appropriate feasibility.
In order to reduce traffic congestion, the immediate task of the government is to lift small minibuses and introduce 52-seat buses and double-decker buses. Complete removal of rickshaws from the main road. Only trucks and wheelbarrows are allowed to operate from 10pm to 5am. Construction of more number of bypass roads for extended Dhaka and main Dhaka. To clear the roads. The occupation of highways in Dhaka must be stopped completely. If the highways of the capital are liberated, the traffic jam will be tolerable. Dhaka is our capital. If our 400-year-old capital becomes immobile due to traffic jam, it cannot be desirable. We have to deal with this problem in our own interest. Government, opposition, urban planners, environmentalists Ñ all have to sit together and make decisions.
Although the government has taken one step after another to reduce traffic congestion, it is not working. Coordinated steps are needed to reduce traffic congestion. It is not possible to solve this omnipresent problem by taking a single step in isolation. The excess of vehicles as compared to the roads of the capital is one of the reasons for the traffic jam. In addition, there is a tendency to disobey traffic rules. Possession of sidewalks and misuse of roads are also one of the causes of traffic jams. There are about three thousand traffic police in the huge Dhaka metropolis. Although electric traffic signals were installed at 59 points in the capital in 2005, mechanical faults have left a part of them unusable. Mechanical traffic signals have become ineffective in some areas due to excessive traffic. Out of the 2100 km roads of the capital, motor vehicles run on only 260 km roads. A large part of it becomes unusable due to hawkers and illegal parking. In our view, the reduction of traffic congestion requires widening of roads in the capital, construction of flyovers at a massive rate, eviction of hawkers from highways and end of illegal parking. Traffic Strict discipline must also be imposed in compliance with the law.
The financial loss due to traffic jam in Dhaka is 226 crore tk per month. This has been said in the research report of a private university. The report also mentioned that the traffic congestion in Dhaka could be reduced without any costly project. The report specifically identified three reasons for the traffic jam in Dhaka. These are car parking everywhere, occupying road space with private cars and violating traffic laws. According to the report, 98.3% of Dhaka's public transport and 6% of private cars violate traffic laws.
At present, about one and a half crore people live in this metropolis with an area of only 300 square kilometers. The population of the city is also increasing day by day. The crisis is also growing with the movement of a large number of people in small towns. Although the size of the city increased with time, the situation did not improve. Traffic jams are wasting huge amount of people's working hours every day as well as causing huge financial loss.
There are a lot of mechanized vehicles in the city. In addition to this, the number of non-mechanical rickshaws is also huge. Slower vehicles are running on the same road with high speed mechanical vehicles. There is no separate lane in the city for rickshaw movement. The result is what is happening. It has been seen that maintenance work is often going on in one or another road of the capital. Construction materials are being left on the road. There is also a lack of coordination among the service providers involved in road digging.
This is mainly due to unplanned urbanization. In a city where there is an alternative communication system (canal or long lake in or around the city) along the road, the pressure on the road is less. Although there was an opportunity to build such a system in Dhaka, it was not developed due to lack of proper planning. As a result, the pressure on the roads has increased, which has to be paid by the city dwellers.
Here are some steps you can take to begin the process:
The main sidewalks and highways of the capital should be kept free from hawkers and illegal establishments and car parking everywhere from 8 am to 5 pm.
The goods of the shops of different shops have to be kept within the boundaries of their shops and the land signboards have to be removed.
The parking lease on the main road will have to be canceled.
Specific parking arrangements need to be developed. If any vehicle is parked outside the designated parking lot, immediate strict action should be taken against the parking lot no matter how powerful it is.
Strong steps should be taken by the traffic department to conduct miking campaign and vigilance if necessary to prevent vehicles from standing in front of the main road or intersection and not crossing the road by disobeying the signal.
Ticket counters at major intersections should be removed and placed at least 600 yards away from the road.
Passenger buses have to stop at certain places, i.e. passengers have to get off the sidewalk.
As soon as long-distance vehicles leave the terminal, parking will have to be stopped everywhere. If parking is required, you have to park in a specific place.
Multi-storey markets and shopping malls that do not have their own parking facilities will be forced to adopt parking arrangements at a faster pace. Otherwise their business license renewal will have to be stopped or revoked if necessary and legal action will have to be taken.
In order to remove all the obstacles of traffic jam on the highways, a round-the-clock mobile team should be kept in place to remove all kinds of obstacles including repair of hat-bazaar vehicles on the roads.
Hawkers and small traders can be given the opportunity to trade on the streets with regular directions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the remaining four days of the week, necessary steps can be taken to monitor the movement of hawkers and small traders so that they do not cause any inconvenience and obstruction to the movement of pedestrians.
Traffic congestion has become an obstacle in the way of national progress. This problem is swallowing up the time that is supposed to be spent on production. Bangladesh would have become a middle-income country long ago if the time spent on traffic jams had been used in the last decade. As a result, sincere efforts should be made by the government to solve this problem.
