60 pc of Dhaka’s Eidholidaymakers to goby road: SCRF

Staff Correspondent: About 1.5 crore people are expected to leave Dhaka including Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Gazipur and Narayanganj city corporations during Eid-ul-Fitr.
Sixty percent of them will go by road and the rest by waterways and railways, according to a report of Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF) released yesterday.
However, the organisation said that the report may not be 100 percent accurate as there is no complete database in this regard.
The report said the road transport sector has no capacity to ensure smooth journey of such a large number of people in an orderly manner in the 9 days from April 13 to 21.
According to the SCRF observation, toll is collected manually on many roads including national highways, some places of several long-distance roads are dilapidated and there are a significant number of risky turning points across the country.
Apart from this, motorcycles will run on the highways during the Eid and there is possibility of severe traffic jams at various points and unexpected accidents.
However, the report mentioned that if various decisions of the government are implemented along with the directives of Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to make the Eid journey smooth, the public sufferings on the roads will be reduced.
SCRF said according to the data of researchers, voluntary organisations and various organizations related to transport, about 1.5 crore people leave Dhaka during Eid.
According to the report, earlier, 25 percent of people used to travel by waterways and 55 percent by road during Eid-ul-Fitr. After the opening of the Padma Bridge, the rate of passenger to the south-west region has decreased by 5 percent. On the other hand, road passenger rate increased to 60 percent.