With the start of Eid journey by homebound people, the authorities concerned have taken moves to make the journey less hazardous, safe and free from traffic congestion amid tight security.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police expects that over 10 million people will leave the city while approximately 3 million will enter over the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, a religious festival for Muslims.
Movement of all trucks, covered vans and lorries have already been banned on national highways from Tuesday midnight to March 28. These vehicles will also be prohibited from entering the highways for the three days following Eid. However, vehicles carrying daily perishable, export and emergency items are exempted from the restriction.
The 11-day public holiday began on Wednesday. Due to long holiday which began with the Independence Day, many families have already left the city by train, bus and waterway. The rush of passengers was found at almost all the bus terminals, Kamalapur Railway Station and Sadarghat on Wednesday.
The Bangladesh Railway started selling tickets of special trains for Eid journey on March 14 for the journey on March 24.
As sufferings of homebound people always start from the entry points of the city, DMP, this year, made Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway from Abdullahpur in Uttara towards Dhour /Ashulia one way road during the holidays.
Besides, the two-lane dedicated bus corridor constructed for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from Uttara to Joydevpur will be used for one-way traffic from Dhaka till the day before Eid.
This year, the Roads and Highways Department also opened the four-lane road from Elenga to Rangpur for traffic movement. DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali in a press note requested travellers to follow the DMP guidelines to avoid hazards and make journey safe.
The road from Abdullahpur in Uttara on Dhaka-Ashulia Highway via Kamarpara to Dhaur Bridge will be used for exit traffic.
As all the highways surrounding the Dhaka city will be busy with homebound passengers, the DMP requested others to avoid these roads which include Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway (Airport to Abdullahpur), Dhaka-Chattogram Highway (Jatrabari to Signboard), Purbachal Expressway (300 feet road), Dhaka-Aricha Highway (Mirpur Road: Shyamoli to Gabtoli),) Dhaka-Keraniganj Road (Phulbaria to Tatibazar to Babubazar Bridge), Dhaka-Mawa Highway (Jatrabari to Buriganga Bridge), Mohammadpur Basila Crossing to Basila Bridge Road and Abdullahpur to Dhair Bridge Road.
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