Still under truckers’ control

Trucks parked on both sides, unused rickshaw lanes devoid of their intended vehicles while office-goers, students, and ambulances transporting critical patients stranded in a gridlock -- this is what one will observe upon reaching  Mayor Annisul Huq Road, specially during office hours.

Despite repeated efforts by Dhaka North City Corporation, this persistent issue of traffic congestion caused by unlawful truck parking raises questions about their authority over transport workers and the effectiveness of their interventions.

DNCC installed iron dividers this February to create separate lanes for rickshaws on the road, but the move also proved to be fruitless.

Trucks and pick-ups parked on the road have extensively damaged the dividers, leaving the separate lanes essentially non-functional.

During a recent visit to the spot, this correspondent found around 55 dividers broken, while iron grilles were stolen from at least 10 others spots. Around a dozen others, partially damaged or stolen, remained unrepaired.

DNCC officials and traffic police personnel did not do enough to prevent illegal parking, which resumed merely two weeks after the dividers were installed, claimed locals.

The road connects Tejgaon, Farmgate and Karwan Bazar with Mohakhali, and Banani-Gulshan-Niketon. Many people use this road, including students from at least 10 educational institutions, and employees of government and private offices.

In December 2015, late DNCC mayor Annisul Huq cleared the road of these vehicles, overcoming strong opposition from transport workers. It has thus become an embodiment of the late mayor's tireless efforts to bring down traffic congestion.

However, the road, which was named Annisul Huq Road following his death in 2017, has continued to suffer from the same problem.

What's worse is that some claim the separate lanes have made gridlocks even worse, as it made the road narrower.

"There's no space anymore due to the separate lanes and I keep getting stuck in traffic jams," said Raju Hossain, a rickshaw-puller, adding that the situation has made it difficult for him to earn a good income.

For thousands of daily commuters like school student Sinthiya Akter, traffic congestion on the road takes twice the time needed for a regular commute to her school.

"It takes me over 15 minutes to cover a short stretch of the road. This is seriously hampering my commute," she said.

Lipi Begum, another resident, said the situation is particularly worse for people with medical emergencies.

"With constant traffic congestion on the road, the thought of having to face inconveniences during such urgencies worries me," she said.

Adil Mohammad Khan, executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development, said he had earlier predicted the separate lane would prove to be nothing but a waste of public money.

He instead recommended building alternative parking spaces and pick-up drop-points for trucks, and dismantling the transport syndicate that facilitates illegal parking.

Terming the menace a "cat and mouse game", DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam, earlier in February, expressed frustration over their failure to stop illegal parking on the road.

Contacted, Abdul Motaleb, general secretary of the Bangladesh Truck-Covered Van Transport Agency Owners Association, admitted that trucks still illegally park on the road at night for loading and unloading goods.

"It's not possible to fully control every truck and pickup driver," he added.

He, however, also claimed that the police had not taken any effective initiatives to stop illegal parking.

Contacted, Shahed Al Masud, deputy commissioner of traffic department (Tejgaon zone), said, "The police cannot pay enough attention to the Mayor Annisul Huq Road due to a shortage of manpower."

Acknowledging the issue, Selim Reza, chief executive officer of DNCC, said, "We undertook a lot of initiatives to stop the illegal parking but none of them worked."

"We have already received around five acres of land for constructing a new truck stand nearby. Once the truck stand is built, there will be no illegal parking on the road," he added.