DHAKA is one of the few capital cities that do not have a code for parking. Even if it is there on paper, it is ignored indiscriminately by the drivers and owners of vehicles. Another activity that adds to our day to day miseries is frequent incidences of road digging - apparently for development work. With road digging for improvement of utility services, we often see the city traffic coming to a standstill and making life immensely difficult for the dwellers. I often hesitate nowadays whenever I am required to step out of the house for any official or personal business. Traffic system in this mega city has completely broken down and gone haywire. We lose thousands of working hours in the traffic jam and if these wasted hours are converted to monetary value it will be an astronomical figure. A few days ago, I was stuck in a long queue of vehicles near Gulshan. I saw many private cars parked on both sides of the road and to make matters worse, some vehicles were parked on the footpaths. Due to random parking, the roads have become narrower than they actually are. Most of the shopping malls and high rise buildings do not have adequate parking spaces for inmates to park their vehicles. As a result, they have to park outside, which creates congestion on roads. The rainy season is just around the corner and if roads are not repaired before the onset of monsoon and parking regulations are not revised and implemented, people will find it impossible to move from one place to another. Dhaka is now a mega city and it does not have adequate roads and related infrastructures compared to its growing population. If urgent steps are not taken in this connection, the traffic situation in Dhaka may deteriorate further.
Mohammad Sohel Hara
Bonosree, Dhaka
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