A civil rights platform has voiced concern that home-bound people might suffer during Eid-ul-Fitr vacation for reasons like dilapidated roads and unfit vehicles.
Passengers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB) has said run-down roads and highways and faulty vehicles will be responsible for the chaotic situation.
Anomalies in the transport sector will add further woes to perpetuate this problem, the PWAB said on Wednesday.
The ongoing road development in many parts of the country is unlikely to be finished ahead of this Eid, thus expecting tailbacks on highways.
The PWAB recommended that illegal structures be demolished and slow-moving vehicles be taken off the main roads.
It also called for prompt operations at toll plazas to help ease the passengers' pains.
The PWAB recommendations were placed at a discussion on 'Public sufferings during Eid: View of civil society' at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the welfare association, chaired the function.
Former chairman of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) Ikram Ahmed, ex-chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Habibur Rahman, ex-executive director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) Dr Saleh Uddin, among others, spoke.
Mr Chowdhury said almost 40 per cent of the national highways are in dire straits mainly due to poor maintenance and the use of substandard building materials.
"The holidaymakers are likely to suffer during Eid vacation for poorly constructed roads and irregularities in the transport sector," he added.
Citing a PWAB estimate, Mr Chowdhury said 50 million people will move to and from across different districts of the country.
Of the total, 11.5 million holidaymakers will leave Dhaka city to celebrate the holy festival with their near and dear ones.
The PWAB secretary said work on the building of four-lane highways, including Dhaka-Mawa highway, usually halts traffic flow, causing gridlock during Eid trips.
"Dhaka-Chattogram highway has been upgraded to a four-lane one, but trippers are unable to reap the benefits for two-lane bridges over Kanchpur, Meghna and Gomati rivers."
Slow pace of toll plaza operations and under-construction flyover in Feni also contribute to traffic jams," Mr Chowdhury said.
Prof Mahbub Alam Talukder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said commuters should be careful of the road safety issues during the festival holidays.
He held slow-moving vehicles like battery-run easy-bike and locally made three-wheelers like Nasiman and Kariman were also responsible for traffic tie-ups on highways.
"Some 40 per cent of the accidents are due to these vehicles that defy government directives and ply on highways instead of using feeder roads," he said.
Habibur Rahman said several thousand unfit vehicles are being readied to ply highways this Eid. They often cause congestion and road accidents.
Mentioning irregularities in this sector, he underscored the need for a strong political commitment to address the issue.
The PWAB presented nine recommendations, including the rationing of public holiday and measures to check overcharging passengers.
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