Highways clogged during Durga puja holiday

City Desk :

City dwellers began leaving Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon after the government declared a four-day holiday for Durga Puja, the largest annual festival for Bengali Hindus.

By Wednesday, streams of passengers continued to pour out of the capital through various terminals, though many faced long delays as heavy traffic clogged highways.

The outflow of holidaymakers left Dhaka visibly quieter than usual. Thursday has been designated a public holiday for the festival, with the government adding Wednesday to the schedule by executive order.

With Friday and Saturday forming the regular weekend, many seized the chance for an extended break, reports bdnews24.com.

Since Tuesday afternoon, scores of passengers have been boarding buses bound for districts across the country.

At the Mohakhali Inter-District Bus Terminal, buses were departing for Mymensingh, Tangail and Kishoreganj. By Wednesday afternoon, long queues had formed at ticket counters.

Nearby, Kausar Ahmed stood in line at the counter for United Paribahan’s air-conditioned buses. “I have been standing for about an hour, but there is no bus,” he said.

“The counter informed me that a bus is leaving Bhogra. I am waiting for that bus.” Rabiul Islam, counter manager of Rajib Paribahan, which operates on the Jamalpur route, said the flow of passengers had already peaked.

“People are going home for the puja holidays, so there was a bit of a crowd yesterday. It hasn’t been as busy today,” he said.

Mahmudul Hasan, manager of Ujanbhati Paribahan on the Kishoreganj route, noted that while the puja holiday rush was noticeable, it was still less intense than during Eid.

On the highways, however, the pressure of outbound traffic was evident.
From the Signboard area on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway to Kanchpur and Sonargaon, jams persisted into Wednesday afternoon.

Heavy rainfall overnight, combined with a truck breakdown in the Darikandi area of Sonargaon, worsened congestion on the Chattogram-bound lane.

Frustrated passengers vented their experiences on social media. In the Facebook group Traffic Alert, which tracks highway conditions, travellers shared accounts of hours lost on the road.