Dhaka residents have a bitter relationship with traffic jam where one can't go one day without falling into one. The congestion on the roads is usually much worse during peak office hours. In the midst of this perpetual torment, there was a small respite in the form of metro rail.

While the metro service is new to Bangladesh and the people of Dhaka has only been introduced to it for a little over a year, a large number of the population has already gotten used to it.

The residents of Uttara and Mirpur are probably the more enthusiastic ones. However, since its halt on 18 July, life without metro has been difficult for a lot of people.

Photo: Star

Not surprisingly, Dhaka roads were noticeably congested over the last week. Regular metro rail commuters had to resort to other means for transportation, and it's been anything but pleasant.

"I used to leave home only 30 minutes prior to my work. Metro rail would take me about 10 minutes to reach Farmgate, where I work. Now I leave an hour early and it's still not enough", said one Ashraful Islam, who lives in Mirpur 10, within walking distance of the metro rail station. "It's been an exhausting week," he added.

The view isn't very different from the driver's seat either. Driving on the streets of Dhaka is no easy task. Whether you ride a motorbike, or drive something with four wheels, it's challenging all the same. With its dust, noise pollution, and the unavoidable traffic signal of Bijoy Sarani that spares no one, Dhaka is unforgiving on the streets, unless you can fly overhead on the metro.

"I have to take a U-turn at Panthapath to be on route to my home at Pallabi. Sometimes, it takes me 45 minutes to one hour just to get through the U-turn. Which is why I used to leave my car at home and took the metro instead. I could be home by the time I finished taking the U-turn. Now, once again, I sit at the driver's seat and count the taillights," joked Iqbal Hossain, who works at a private bank.

"Everyone who used the metro has now turned to bus, so as you can imagine getting a place on a bus isn't exactly easy these days either, and if you are driving, you better buckle up for the same old Dhaka jam," Iqbal added.

Photo: Star

With high pressure of commuters over the last few days, reminiscing about the metro days has become a topic of conversation at workplaces. While many complained about the metro fare for shorter distances, now it seems like a small price to pay considering the time it saved. And there's no hassle of sitting in the traffic jam, wondering when the vehicles might move just a little so you don't lose all hope.

Authorities have announced that metro rail will resume operations as soon as possible. Residents will surely exhale a sight of relief and count the days when the metro is once again a daily part of the experience that we call Dhaka.