Quader sees no tailbacks

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said there were no long tailbacks on the highways during the rush of holidaymakers.

Vehicles are moving slowly, he said.

“Today [Saturday] I didn’t get any information about suffering on roads,” Quader told reporters while visiting Mohakhali Bus Terminal in the capital around 11:00am.

“Vehicles are moving slowly near Tangail, but there is no information about long tailbacks anywhere. We are monitoring the situation from a control room at the BRTA.

“We have no information from anywhere that traffic congestion occurred due to poor condition of roads.”

He said vehicular movement on Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet highways was smooth while the situation on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, especially between Tongi and Gazipur Chowrastha, was better than expected.

On Friday, vehicles remained stuck in a 64km tailback stretching from Chandra intersection in Gazipur to the approach road of the Bangabandhu bridge.

Vehicles were also stuck for hours in a 25km stretch of road from Bangabandhu bridge to Sirajganj’s Hatikumrul.

Besides, a 20km queue of vehicles formed from Paturia ferry terminal on Dhaka-Aricha highway on Friday.

There was a 40km tailback on Dhaka-Tangail highway yesterday morning.

But Quader yesterday said Dhaka-Tangail highway had faced serious pressure of vehicles on Friday due to Thursday’s bad weather and a huge number of cattle-laden trucks.

He also said that some issues at the toll plaza near Bangabandhu bridge were causing the vehicles to slow down.

 “As vehicles are moving slowly, many vehicles are failing to reach the terminals on time. This is the reality.

“So many passengers have been waiting here for a long time. Many of them asked me about the delayed arrival of buses as they have been waiting with their children at the terminal.”

When a reporter asked him whether he would say the holidaymakers’ journey yesterday was smooth, the minister said, “People’s departure [from Dhaka] have been by and large comfortable. Vehicles are reaching [their destinations] late. I mentioned this earlier.”

People usually suffer during Eid rush, but they accept it considering the festivities, he said.

On the allegations of additional fares charged from home goers, Quader said, “You have to provide specific information about who is charging the additional fare and where.”

Asked whether the ministry doesn’t have ways to know about the allegations, he said, “He who raises the complaint will have to provide the information.”

However, he admitted that there were some irregularities despite the vigilance.

BRTA Chairman Moshiar Rahman, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association Secretary General Khondaker Enayet Ullah accompanied him.