Around 10:00am yesterday, Golam Kibria and his family started their journey to Tangail from Mohakhali bus terminal in the capital.

It should take them maximum three hours to reach Tangail.

But half that time passed even before they crossed the city. Their bus got stuck twice inside the city, first at Abdullahpur in Uttara, and then at Ashulia on the outskirts of the city.

"Upon reaching Ashulia, we faced another terrible jam and were stuck for over 45 minutes at a point," Kibria told The Daily Star over phone yesterday evening.

When it was more than three hours since their start, they were only in Baipail, merely one-fourth of the distance between Dhaka and Tangail.

Hundreds of potholes, compounded by rain-induced waterlogging at many places, on the near 15-kilometre stretch from Abdullahpur to Baipail aggravated the situation, making vehicles move slower than non-motorised carts or rickshaws.

"All the vehicles were moving so slowly that I think I could have moved faster than a bus if I had ridden on a rickshaw," Kibria said.  

Suffering continued until their bus crossed Mirzapur of Tangail.

More than six hours passed when they finally reached Tangail around 4:00pm.

Two correspondents of The Daily Star travelled on the same highway yesterday and faced similar ordeals.

Hundreds of cattle-laden trucks were heading towards the capital while an equally high number of passenger buses from the capital was rushing towards the outer districts. This excessive flow of vehicles is the main reason for long tailbacks, according to the correspondents.

An almost 20-kilometre tailback stretched from Chandra intersection of Gazipur to Mirzapur of Tangail, they informed. It was almost four hours before vehicles began to move on the stretch, they added.

Thousands of passengers heading towards the northern districts, too, suffered badly due to the gridlock on the Dhaka-Tangail highway.

Police and transport operators said huge traffic flow, narrow roads with potholes, haphazard movement of cattle-laden trucks and incessant rain caused the gridlock.

Homebound people have been suffering immensely from heavy traffic congestion on the highway over the last three days.

Highway police said that although the Dhaka-Tangail highway has the capacity of containing around 5,000 vehicles daily, it sees over 20,000 vehicles plying daily ahead of Eid.

However, no major tailback was reported in other highways across the country.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said incessant rainfall damages roads despite repeated repairs.

While visiting Gabtoli bus terminal, the minister also said, "This time our main target is to minimise public suffering. But I cannot guarantee that we'd be able to minimise all sufferings fully."

Passengers, who travelled through the water and rail routes, enjoyed almost hassle-free journeys as most of the launches and trains were operated on schedule.

Ferry services between the Paturia-Daulaida and Shimulia-Kawrakandi ghats of the Padma were smooth, report our Manikganj and Munshiganj correspondents.