Tailbacks, derailment hit Eid return journey

The return Eid journey is yet to pick up as holidaymakers in limited number came back to the capital and its adjacent districts on Tuesday amid a slow pace of vehicles at the Pamda Bridge toll plazas and delayed journeys of some trains following a wagon derailment in Brahmanbaria.

A huge number of people in various vehicles intending to visit the Padma Bridge caused long queues at the toll plazas at both Mawa and Janjira ends of the bridge.

Many railway passengers suffered as the rail communications of Sylhet and Chattogram with the rest of Bangladesh remained suspended for about eight hours after a wagon of an oil tanker derailed in Bijoynagar upazila of Brahmanbaria on the day.

Otherwise, the return journey of holidaymakers was almost hassle-free on roads and waterways.

Motorcycles were seen running on highways despite restrictions.

The roads in the capital throughout Tuesday remained almost empty as the numbers of people and transports were still much fewer than the usual.

Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated on Sunday, with a three-day Eid vacation starting on Saturday.

As the holiday ended on Monday a few people were seen coming back to the capital city and adjacent districts to join their work on Tuesday.

New Age correspondent in Munshiganj reported that a huge number of people even by trucks, pickups besides cars had started coming to visit the Padma Bridge since Tuesday morning.

The flow of vehicles increased in the evening.

At 5:00pm, various vehicles, especially cars, were stranded in long queues from the Padma Bridge Uttar thana crossing to the Mawa toll plaza, where five booths were operational.

People illegally came by trucks and pickups for visiting the bridge and sightseeing.

Md Masum, a sightseer, said that he came from Gazipur to visit the bridge in the Eid vacation.

‘I came am with my friends and we will go to other side of the bridge and then will come back,’ he added.

Some people on a pickup said that they came from Jhenaidah to see the bridge.

Padma Bridge Uttar thana officer-in-charge Alamgir Hossain said that they had seized two pickups on the day as they carried people and were playing music in high volume.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bridge Authority executive engineer Mahmudur Rahman said that they had collected Tk 3,60,55,400 from 32,440 vehicles that crossed the bridge from Mawa and Janjira points between 12:00am and 11:59pm on Monday.

Earlier, the authority earned Tk 10.97 crore in tolls from 74,222 vehicles that crossed the bridge from 12:00am on Thursday to 11:59pm on Saturday.

Tourists crowded the Shimulia ferry ghat and Janjira areas also, said Md Shahadat Hossian, in-charge of tourist police at Munshiganj and for the Padma Bridge sub-zone.

New Age correspondent in Cumilla reported that vehicles were seen running slowly on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway from Paduar Bazar to cantonment point on both lanes since Tuesday afternoon.

Mainamati highway police outpost in-charge Syed Ahsan said that the slow pace of vehicles continued till evening.  

Since Tuesday morning, train passengers had been travelling without any disruption in schedule.

However, several trains on the Dhaka–Sylhet and Dhaka–Chattogram sections ran behind their schedules following a wagon derailment, causing sufferings to people on their return journey.

Bangladesh Railway East Zone general manager Jahangir Hossain said that a wagon of a Sylhet-bound oil tanker coming from Chattogram derailed in Mukundapur area at about 11:30am, breaking some rail sleepers.

The train movement on the Dhaka–Sylhet and Dhaka–Chattogram sections was suspended immediately.

Jahangir Hossain confirmed that the rail communication on these sections resumed at 7:00pm.

Following the accident, the Paharika Express on the Chattogram­–Sylhet route was more than five hours and the Joyantika Express on the Sylhet–Dhaka route more than two hours behind their schedules.

Since Tuesday morning, good numbers of vehicles were seen running on the country’s major highways, including the Dhaka–Tangail–Bangabandhu Bridge, Dhaka–Mawa–Bhanga, Dhaka–Aricha, Dhaka–Mymensingh and Dhaka–Chattogram higways, freely without any traffic gridlock.

Long-route transport owners said that the rush of returnees would increase on the upcoming weekly holidays.

In the capital, the inter-district bus terminals at Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad remained crowd-free on the day.

Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association senior leader Abul Kalam, also the president of the Mohakhali Bus Terminal Owners Association, said that few people came to Dhaka from districts like Mymnesingh, Tangail and northern districts on Tuesday. 

A good number of people returned to Dhaka from these districts on Monday night while the number of returnees would increase from Friday, he added.

New Age correspondents in Tangail and Gazipur reported that the Dhaka–Tangail–Bangabandhu Bridge and the Dhaka–Mymensingh highways were free from traffic gridlocks throughout Tuesday.

Motorcycles on some highways were seen running throughout the day.

New Age correspondents in Manikganj and Munshiganj reported that vehicles were seen crossing the River Padma by the Paturia–Daulatdia and Shimulia–Majhikandi ferry routes with no congestion.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority joint director Alamgir Kabir said that few people returned and left Dhaka on the day by launches.

On Monday, 103 launches came to and 118 left Dhaka while 71 launches came to and 40 left Dhaka on Tuesday till 4:00pm, he added.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/175634/tailbacks-derailment-hit-eid-return-journey