The ongoing road development work at the Sarail Bishwa Road roundabout in Brahmanbaria, large potholes on the highway, road accidents and broken down goods vehicles have caused a terrible traffic jam on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The traffic jam, which started on Tuesday evening and continued till Wednesday morning, saw long queues of vehicles stretching for about 22 kilometers. Thousands of passengers, transport workers and the general public are facing extreme hardship due to this.
According to police and local sources, a goods lorry and a covered van collided head-on in the Baishamura area of Sarail upazila on Tuesday afternoon amid heavy rain. The front parts of both vehicles were twisted and twisted. After about an hour, the highway police and fire service removed the two vehicles, but in the meantime, long traffic jams were created on both sides of the highway. The overnight rains have made the roads more dangerous with water accumulating in various places, making potholes even more dangerous.
The situation further deteriorated when two more goods-laden trucks broke down at Shahbazpur Bridge and Islamabad area around 6 am on Wednesday. By 8:30 am, a long queue of vehicles stretched for about 22 km from Shantinagar, Bishwa Road intersection, Kuttapara, Shahbazpur to Budhanti in Bijaynagar.
It can be seen on the ground that out of the four directions of the Sarail Bishwa Road roundabout, only one lane from Dhaka to Sylhet is being used for traffic. The two lanes from Sylhet to Dhaka and Comilla are being closed while development work is being carried out. As a result, the normal movement of vehicles is being severely disrupted. On the other hand, heavy vehicles are getting stuck in the Comilla-bound lane due to the potholes submerged in rainwater. As a result, traffic jams have spread to the Suhilpur area of Brahmanbaria Sadar.
Nayan Khan, a truck driver from Sylhet to Netrokona, said, “It took me two and a half hours to travel from Budhanti to Kuttapara. However, during normal times, this route can be covered in 15 to 20 minutes.”
Abu Taher Dewan, officer-in-charge of Sarail-Khantihata Highway Police Station, said that the traffic jam has been caused by goods vehicles repeatedly getting stuck in a large pothole on the south side of the Bishwa Road intersection. In addition, the situation has deteriorated further as it took time to remove the 50-ton lorry that met with an accident in the Baishamura area. He said that the highway police members are working non-stop to resolve the traffic jam and efforts are being made to normalize the situation quickly.
Locals have complained that due to the poor condition of the road in the Sarail Bishwa Road area for a long time and slow development work, severe traffic jams are being created even after a little rain. They have demanded that the renovation work be completed quickly and sustainably to ensure normal traffic flow on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.
