Old Dhaka is increasingly losing its reputation as a key trading hub of Bangladesh as businessmen are moving to favourable locations due to lingering severe traffic congestion, speakers said.

"Due to travel delays caused by congestion, the older part of the capital is failing to retain its status," said Ashraf Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

"The transportation cost of businesses has increased and life has become difficult for local residents."

He made the comments while presenting a keynote at a discussion titled "The Effect of Traffic Congestion on Trade and Commerce in Old Dhaka and Identifying Means of Passage," organised by the chamber at its office in the capital.

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Put an end to traffic woes

Referring to a study of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Ahmed said traffic congestion inflicted by unplanned urbanisation and expansion reduces the country's overall GDP by 2.9 percent.

There are 10 lakh registered vehicles in Dhaka and the average speed of vehicles has dropped seven kilometres from 21 kms per hour. It is projected to decline to 4km by 2035, he said, citing figures from the World Bank and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority.

He blamed the illegal shops on the footpaths, narrow roads, absence of a proper traffic system, illegal rickshaws and vans and hawkers for the almost unbearable traffic situation in Old Dhaka.

The DCCI chief suggested a one-way traffic system to ease the pressure.

He recommended using Artificial Intelligence-based traffic signaling, administrative decentralisation, and a long-term urban development strategy.

Old Dhaka is one of the largest trading hubs in Bangladesh and transactions worth thousands of crores of taka take place there every day.

"However, due to severe traffic jams, many businesses are now trying to shift to other places. If the trend continues, the city will lose its reputation one day," Ahmed said.

The traffic snarl-ups impose working hour losses worth about Tk 140 crore daily, he said.

Soon an eco-friendly and Internet of Things-based transportation system will be implemented in Dhaka, said Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

He warned if chemical traders refuse to relocate from Old Dhaka to Shyampur immediately, the DSCC will initiate a combing operation after Eid-ul-Fitr.

"We will no longer allow flammable chemical businesses in Old Dhaka," he said, adding that the DSCC has already provided land to them in the city's Shyampur area.

Taposh said 1,924 chemical traders are running businesses in Old Dhaka, posing a threat to the lives of the residents.

"We have created this unplanned urbanisation. We are all responsible for this," he said, adding that urban planning should be carried out by the city corporation.

He said the DSCC has been able to nearly double its revenue, from Tk 512 crore to Tk 1,031 crore, just by improving governance and reducing corruption and without increasing taxes.

"The DSCC has successfully tackled the solid waste problem and is now focusing on waterlogging."

The mayor said a new central business hub would be built in Kamrangirchar. No bus counters will be allowed outside the designated bus terminals, he said.

Tapsoh requested shop owners not to allow vendors to set up makeshift shops in front of their establishments.

Mizanur Rahman, chief executive officer of the DSCC, said illegal street-based shops are one of the major reasons for the traffic jams in Old Dhaka.

He said the city corporation regularly conducts eviction drives against illegal hawkers.

Neelima Akhter, executive director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), said the city needs to formulate an action plan or find out a strategic solution for the future.

She called for better coordination among government agencies.

Md Munibur Rahman, additional police commissioner (Traffic) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said a city like Dhaka should dedicate at least 30 percent of its areas to roads against 8 percent now.

He made commitments to deploy traffic police in Old Dhaka as soon as possible.

Md Abdul Baquee Miah, director for planning and development at the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, SM Salehuddin, a former executive director of the DTCA, and Abdus Salam, a former senior vice-president of the DCCI, also spoke.