Shopping spree of the city dwellers, faulty traffic management system and numerous makeshift shops on footpaths caused unprecedented tailback across the capital Monday, like most other weekdays.
Besides, illegal parking of a large number of private vehicles on the streets and an increased number of rickshaws also worsened the situation.
After visiting different shopping malls across the city the FE correspondent found that hundreds of cars and jeeps were parked on both sides of the roads in front of the markets, causing further gridlock on the adjacent streets.
Traffic jam was severe in front of Mouchak Market, Bangabazar, New Market, Gausia, Bashundhara City, Eastern Plaza, Rapa Plaza, Shimanto Square, Ramna Bhaban, Farmgate, Elephant Road, Karwan Bazar, Mogbazar, Gulistan and Paltan areas.
However, victims and law-enforcers blamed each other for the horrifying situation.
"On any weekend, it just takes five minutes to reach Farmgate from Shahbag intersection and vice versa by a car. But it is a bitter experience for me today, as it took 90 minutes to cross the two-kilometre stretch," Kamrul Ahsan, a passer-by, told the FE.
"If traffic personnel and other law enforcers were active, the situation could never become so terrible," he added, expressing his anger.
"If the law-enforcers could keep the footpaths clear, people could go to their destinations on foot. But now we have no other option but to wait until the tailback eases," said Nur Rahman, a shopper at Mouchak Market.
"There is none to look at illegal grabbing of footpaths and illegal parking. Otherwise this type of situation would not happen," he concluded.
However, high officials at the traffic department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said shortage of their manpower and lack of awareness among people about disadvantages of law violation caused the immense sufferings to the city dwellers.
"It has been a common scene every year during the Ramadan. A large number of people throng the shopping malls at noon and subsequently long tailbacks become a regular phenomenon," said Khan Mohammad Rejwan, DMP deputy commissioner (traffic-south), told the FE.
Shoppers park their vehicles in front of the markets, narrowing down the roads. They do not always obey the law, he noted.
"Above all there are more than 1.4 million private cars in Dhaka city against its capacity of 0.3 million. Besides, road network is almost one forth of requirement, for which we cannot do more despite trying hard."
Mr Rejwan also said, "If twenty vehicles violate traffic rules at a time in the same area, traffic personnel can do nothing because of manpower shortage. Only 2-3 sergeants and a few constables have to control hundreds of vehicles in front of a shopping mall everyday, which is really tough."
"We are helpless in this situation, as the department has long been facing shortage of manpower. The city dwellers have to face this situation everyday till the Eid."
Meanwhile, replying to the FE, another high official of the traffic department said they cannot be more active for making the city's footpaths free from illegal encroachment by evicting the makeshift shops due to political influence.
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