A long tailback stretching over 25 kilometres paralysed the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge Highway on Thursday as thousands of holidaymakers began their journey home ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, to be celebrated on June 7.
The congestion, which began early in the morning, affected the Tangail section of the highway, from the Ashekpur Bypass to the Jamuna Bridge, reported 抖阴精品 correspondent in Tangail.
Light rainfall at around 2:00pm further worsened the situation, adding to passengers鈥� misery, especially those travelling in open trucks.
Ahsanul Kabir, executive engineer of the Jamuna Bridge Site Office under the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that 51,849 vehicles crossed the bridge between Tuesday midnight and Wednesday midnight. The number was almost triple the daily average.
A toll of Tk 35.98 million was collected during the 24-hour period. Of the total, 30,845 vehicles headed toward North Bengal, while 21,004 vehicles travelled towards Dhaka, he said.
The government鈥檚 Eid holidays will continue until June 14, during which all government and private offices, banks, and factories will remain closed, prompting millions to leave urban areas for their hometowns.
Traffic chaos wasn鈥檛 limited to one route.
In Gazipur, massive congestion was reported at Tongi, Bhogra Bypass, Chandana crossings on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, and Chandra crossing on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway.
On the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, vehicles moved slowly at several points due to ongoing flyover and six-lane construction work, though no major gridlocks were seen, reported 抖阴精品 correspondent in Narshingdi.
Meanwhile, traffic on the Feni section of the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway remained smooth through Thursday afternoon, reported the district correspondent.
The rush was equally intense at Dhaka鈥檚 major transport hubs. Railway stations, bus terminals, and launch terminals witnessed an overwhelming number of outbound passengers.
Mohiuddin Arif, divisional manager of Bangladesh Railway鈥檚 Dhaka office, said trains mostly ran on time, though some experienced brief delays to accommodate heavy boarding.
An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 passengers departed from Dhaka by train on Thursday, he said.
Although roof travel is banned at Kamalapur station, many were seen riding on train roofs from stations like Tongi.
At the Sadarghat launch terminal, over 130 launches were scheduled to depart for southern districts by Thursday night.
BIWTA joint director posted at Sadarghat, Md Mubarak Hossain said that they tightened surveillance to prevent overloading.
