The capital's traffic almost collapsed Saturday as the ongoing metro rail work coupled with Eid shoppers' movement worsened the situation, even on a weekend.
It took hours for commuters to reach one part of the city from another as slow-moving vehicles created long tailback on key roads, especially on the Mirpur-Motijheel route, they said.
The Eid shoppers' rush for shopping was one of the reasons for which the situation aggravated on the streets.
"Today's traffic is perhaps the worst during Ramadan. I had to walk from Manik Mia Avenue to Kawrarn Bazar," said Arif Rahman, salesman of a private firm.
"I am worried about the situation in the days before Eid," he said.
At one stage, the traffic police put a barricade in the bustling Kawran Bazar intersection.
"We've stopped the road because this congestion has extended to Gulistan," an on-duty police constable said.
Most of the streets in Farmgate, Kawran Bazar Malibagh, Paltan, the National Press Club, Gulistan, Mirpur, Shyamoli, Kalyanpur, Azimpur, Jatrabari, Mouchak, Rampura, Badda, Gulshan, Narda, Sayedabad and Motijheel were found gridlocked with enormous pressure of vehicles.
Al Amin, a helper of Bikalpa bus service, estimated that it took around four hours to get to the Intercontinental intersection from Mirpur 12.
Monir Hossain, an intercity bus passenger, said it took four hours to reach Gabtali from Jatrabari on Saturday morning, which usually takes roughly an hour.
Many passengers were found getting down from the vehicles stuck in the traffic jams, while others were walking towards their destinations.
Rahela Priyom, a student of City College, said she had been facing severe traffic congestions in the last few days.
"I fail to attend my class in time due to the traffic congestion nowadays," she added.
Rezaur Rahman, a resident of Uttara, said, "We are now experiencing nightmare traffic on different city streets. It's horrible," he said.
He said he had to spend five hours on the road for traffic jam on Friday too.
To get speed money from transport workers, some traffic police stopped vehicles in the name of searching for documents, which also created traffic jams, a worker alleged.
Traffic police were seen standing helplessly in many intersections as vehicles were not moving for hours.
Police have failed to plan its traffic ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival as severe gridlock has made the life of commuters as well as shoppers miserable.
But the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said it took initiatives to ease traffic in Ramadan.
On the first day of Ramadan, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said they ordered high officials of the traffic police to make sure that people can reach home safely to have iftar with their families at the end of the day's work during the Ramadan.
When contacted, DMP joint commissioner (Traffic-south) Mofiz Uddin Ahmed told The Financial Express the traffic situation worsened in the afternoon when office hours end as people come out together to return home.
He said the construction work of the metro rail project has significantly narrowed the existing road space while shoppers and home-goers from office come to the street simultaneously, making it very difficult for them to handle.
Asked if there were any alternative arrangements to lessen the sufferings of the commuters, he said they have already made some adjustment with diverting some public transports towards the Mirpur-Motijheel route via Science Lab.
But the Eid shopping put extra pressure on that road too, he added.
"The situation is too tough to manage. I think no formula will work because we don't enough space to divert," Mr Ahmed said.
"We're trying our best to manage the situation under such circumstances," he added.
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