Adviser Fouzul Kabir switches to motorcycle due to gridlock

Staff Reporter :

Adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, found himself caught in a severe traffic jam while en route to inspect the dilapidated condition and persistent gridlock on the Dhaka–Sylhet Highway.

His destination was the Bishwaroad intersection in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria, where he was scheduled to arrive around 10:30 am on Wednesday.

Earlier in the morning, Fouzul Kabir Khan had reached Bhairab Railway Station aboard the Mahanagar Express train from Dhaka to Chattogram. From there, he continued by road toward Sarail’s Bishwaroad. However, after reaching Ashuganj at 10:35 am, his convoy became stuck in heavy traffic in the Sonarampur area, where it remained until nearly 12:00 pm.
Eventually, at Bahadurpur, the adviser left his vehicle and proceeded toward Bishwaroad on a motorcycle.

Speaking to journalists, he said he was determined to “see for himself where the problems lie and ensure they are resolved.”

He was accompanied by Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Didarul Alam, Superintendent of Police Ehteshamul Haque, and officials from the Roads and Highways Department (RHD). At the Bishwaroad intersection, Sarail Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Mosharraf Hossain and Highway Police Superintendent Shahinur Alam were waiting to receive him.
According to the RHD offices in Brahmanbaria and Cumilla and local sources, the government decided to take urgent measures following multiple media reports on severe congestion along the Brahmanbaria section of the highway.
Consequently, the RHD began repair work at the Bishwaroad roundabout from Saturday afternoon. The ongoing work involves a three-layer brick-laying process — 12 metres wide and 185 metres long at the roundabout, and 190 metres long and 10.3 metres wide from the roundabout to Sarai Kutttapara playground on the Sylhet-bound lane.
Bricks from automated kilns in Dhaka, Cumilla, Munshiganj, and Brahmanbaria are being used, with around 400,000 bricks required for completion.
The repairs have been carried out in phases: from Saturday afternoon to 2:00 am Sunday, from 12:30 pm to 10:30 pm Monday, and from morning till late night on Tuesday.

Field inspections and discussions with RHD officials revealed that various government departments had imposed a 72-hour deadline to reduce congestion at Bishwaroad. The deadline expired Tuesday afternoon, but by 5:30 pm, only about 30 per cent of the work had been completed.

Meanwhile, the repair efforts themselves have worsened the traffic situation. As soon as work began on Saturday, long tailbacks formed across the Brahmanbaria stretch of the highway. Due to poor coordination and sluggish progress, both congestion and public suffering have intensified.

The jam, which started on Saturday afternoon, has continued for four consecutive days, stretching around 34 kilometres from Ashuganj roundabout in Brahmanbaria to Madhabpur in Habiganj. As of Wednesday morning, the gridlock remained.

Sarail UNO Md Mosharraf Hossain said, “Since morning, the highway has been experiencing severe congestion. Members of the army, police, and other law enforcement agencies are working to bring the situation under control.”