Dhaka's traffic mess : The scene of stalled vehicles
Saturday, 1 May 2010
A H Jaffor Ullah
Let me admit this fact that traffic hardly moves in Dhaka's main artery during rush hours. Many folks from mercantile community would prefer to leave their house late in the morning to simply avoid the all too familiar rush hour traffic jams. But their number is few and far between. Most Dhaka folks who work in government offices, schools, and other offices have no choice but to hit the road during the morning rush hour. These folks obviously take the brunt of rush hour traffic jam.
This is not mere a speculation if anyone says that Dhaka's population will be twice as much as it is now at an early date from the mass migration to it from other parts of the country. Can anyone imagine what will it be like then? The present road system of Dhaka, which is hardly adequate for moving vehicles for 5-6 million people, will virtually collapse when the population of this megalopolis will reach a staggering 14-16 million only some years from now. It is to be hoped that urban planners of Dhaka are doing their clearheaded thinking right now or else the system will collapse right before their eyes.
There is no dearth of demographers in Dhaka whose sole business is to make projection on population distribution, its growth, etc. Respected institutions and NGOs dealing with Bangladesh's population problem also routinely hire some of these experts. Once in a while, we read excerpts from their speeches or reports in newspapers. But very seldom do we read or hear their forecast on ever-growing traffic congestion. Do they realize that it is already causing a serious problem? This massive traffic congestion is taking its toll on human health, economy, environment, and myriad other activities.
The price tag is rather high when people have to spend hours unnecessarily on the road in sweltering heat. Never mind the high humidity. The resulting misery generated by the high heat and humidity takes its toll on human health. To add insult to the injury, the unpleasantness this high misery index generates slows down the productivity of a person. No wonder, the average productivity of our office worker in Dhaka is not up to par with office workers in the West. But then who cares about the productivity enhancement of our people?
The traffic problem of Dhaka is hindering the growth of the megalopolis and Bangladesh, both. The traffic is not only stodgily slow, it is erratic and unpredictable. On every intersection the drivers become quite unruly. A first time visitor may think that Bengalis are the most wild bunch who have no respect for law of the land. This is indeed a serious matter. It will be unwise to think that a would-be-investor would bet his bottom dollar thinking that productive work could be generated in this chaotic nation. In any roundabout in Dhaka the plying babytaxis, rickshas, buses, etc., form multiple lines. They do this to grab a tiny space out of sheer desperation. Behavioral scientists have long since done experiments to show that even insects demonstrate aggressive behavior when they are placed in a crowded situation. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see that Dhaka's pedestrians, thelawallahs, rickshawallahs, babytaxiwallahs, vanwallahs, and bus/truck drivers all vie for tiny spaces with noticeable aggression and utter disregard for others' right of way . This obviously creates serious problems such as unnecessary traffic holdup and minor fender bender incidences. Nonetheless, there is a price tag for such bizarre behavior. Serious vehicular related accidents are growing with an accelerated rate everywhere in urban areas of this impoverished nation.
In this short article, I have covered a lot of base concerning the congestion of traffic and potential pitfall stemming from stalled vehicles on the road. There should be more write-ups in Dhaka's newspapers, especially in the vernacular one so that ordinary folks know the danger of traffic jam and related pollution problem. What ideally one wants to see is Dhaka's road unclogged and pollution free. The government thus far is keeping a blind eye to all this hoping that the problem will be solved by itself or by a divine intervention. We all know that none of these will happen. The civil society has to find a realistic solution to it.
Is it possible to decentralize the government and move a big part of it outside Dhaka, may be in Joydebpur area or in Tangail? Also, is it possible to limit the population of Dhaka? Something drastic should be done to check the unruly growth of Dhaka city. Instead of a planned growth, which is healthy, the city is growing like a cancer (unchecked and uncontrolled).
A.H. Jaffor Ullah writes from New Orleans, USA. He can be reached at e-mail: Jaffor@netscape.net
Let me admit this fact that traffic hardly moves in Dhaka's main artery during rush hours. Many folks from mercantile community would prefer to leave their house late in the morning to simply avoid the all too familiar rush hour traffic jams. But their number is few and far between. Most Dhaka folks who work in government offices, schools, and other offices have no choice but to hit the road during the morning rush hour. These folks obviously take the brunt of rush hour traffic jam.
This is not mere a speculation if anyone says that Dhaka's population will be twice as much as it is now at an early date from the mass migration to it from other parts of the country. Can anyone imagine what will it be like then? The present road system of Dhaka, which is hardly adequate for moving vehicles for 5-6 million people, will virtually collapse when the population of this megalopolis will reach a staggering 14-16 million only some years from now. It is to be hoped that urban planners of Dhaka are doing their clearheaded thinking right now or else the system will collapse right before their eyes.
There is no dearth of demographers in Dhaka whose sole business is to make projection on population distribution, its growth, etc. Respected institutions and NGOs dealing with Bangladesh's population problem also routinely hire some of these experts. Once in a while, we read excerpts from their speeches or reports in newspapers. But very seldom do we read or hear their forecast on ever-growing traffic congestion. Do they realize that it is already causing a serious problem? This massive traffic congestion is taking its toll on human health, economy, environment, and myriad other activities.
The price tag is rather high when people have to spend hours unnecessarily on the road in sweltering heat. Never mind the high humidity. The resulting misery generated by the high heat and humidity takes its toll on human health. To add insult to the injury, the unpleasantness this high misery index generates slows down the productivity of a person. No wonder, the average productivity of our office worker in Dhaka is not up to par with office workers in the West. But then who cares about the productivity enhancement of our people?
The traffic problem of Dhaka is hindering the growth of the megalopolis and Bangladesh, both. The traffic is not only stodgily slow, it is erratic and unpredictable. On every intersection the drivers become quite unruly. A first time visitor may think that Bengalis are the most wild bunch who have no respect for law of the land. This is indeed a serious matter. It will be unwise to think that a would-be-investor would bet his bottom dollar thinking that productive work could be generated in this chaotic nation. In any roundabout in Dhaka the plying babytaxis, rickshas, buses, etc., form multiple lines. They do this to grab a tiny space out of sheer desperation. Behavioral scientists have long since done experiments to show that even insects demonstrate aggressive behavior when they are placed in a crowded situation. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see that Dhaka's pedestrians, thelawallahs, rickshawallahs, babytaxiwallahs, vanwallahs, and bus/truck drivers all vie for tiny spaces with noticeable aggression and utter disregard for others' right of way . This obviously creates serious problems such as unnecessary traffic holdup and minor fender bender incidences. Nonetheless, there is a price tag for such bizarre behavior. Serious vehicular related accidents are growing with an accelerated rate everywhere in urban areas of this impoverished nation.
In this short article, I have covered a lot of base concerning the congestion of traffic and potential pitfall stemming from stalled vehicles on the road. There should be more write-ups in Dhaka's newspapers, especially in the vernacular one so that ordinary folks know the danger of traffic jam and related pollution problem. What ideally one wants to see is Dhaka's road unclogged and pollution free. The government thus far is keeping a blind eye to all this hoping that the problem will be solved by itself or by a divine intervention. We all know that none of these will happen. The civil society has to find a realistic solution to it.
Is it possible to decentralize the government and move a big part of it outside Dhaka, may be in Joydebpur area or in Tangail? Also, is it possible to limit the population of Dhaka? Something drastic should be done to check the unruly growth of Dhaka city. Instead of a planned growth, which is healthy, the city is growing like a cancer (unchecked and uncontrolled).
A.H. Jaffor Ullah writes from New Orleans, USA. He can be reached at e-mail: Jaffor@netscape.net