Ban on street rallies on Dhaka streets

The decision, reportedly taken at the meeting of the executive committee of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), to disallow rallies on Dhaka streets on workdays, is a piece of welcome news. However, there are some good reasons for most people to receive it with a certain degree of scepticism. Similar assurances did also come in the past from the men in power on a number of occasions but the situation on the ground remained unchanged. Political rallies, in most cases, continue to aggravate the sufferings the commuters are regularly compelled to endure on Dhaka streets. The road and transport minister who chaired the DTCA meeting wanted an end to such rallies on weekdays as he feared a rise in political rallies with the next general election approaching fast.

The pain that the Dhaka commuters experienced on the streets last Saturday is yet fresh in their memory. But it certainly would not last long as they might soon be subjected to identical or even severer form of agonies. Commuting in the city unpredictable as nobody knows when, how and where one would get stuck up, maybe for hours together. However, the Dhakaites have become accustomed to this daily torture. But their problems get intensified when something bigger, including political rallies and processions of major parties are organised. However, for obvious reasons, the law enforcers are found to be lenient, to a certain degree, towards rallies organised by the ruling party and its allies.

No wonder, the city's traffic is also cited internationally as one of the major reasons for its categorisation as one of the world's worst cities. Dhaka's infamous traffic gridlock does take a psychological toll on the commuters. But its economic cost, in terms of loss of fuel and man-hour, is too well-known as it runs into billions of Taka per day. Overall the situation prevailing on Dhaka roads is both chaotic and pathetic with vehicles and pedestrians giving a damn to traffic laws and rules. The government has constructed a few flyovers and overpasses with the objective of easing the traffic flow. Most of those structures built at a huge cost are, as it was earlier feared, failing to deliver results except for transferring gridlocks from one point to another.

Under the prevailing circumstances, all agencies concerned, have apparently given up the hope for streamlining the city's traffic operations. However, some new projects, if implemented in time, could, at least, help lessen the sufferings of the commuters. The metro rail is one such project. Though its implementation is now on, yet there could be delay in its execution. This is a usual phenomenon about development works, particularly concerning construction of physical infrastructure-related ones, in this part of the world. The fact is that all concerned are somewhat clueless about finding a lasting solution to problems of traffic gridlock and consequent sufferings of the commuters. The efforts, therefore, should be to check further deterioration of the situation in the coming days. The imposition of ban on political rallies on workdays could be one positive way of easing the commuters' woes. Hopefully, the authorities will be able to ensure the implementation of the decision.