Rally of AL and rain mar Dhaka traffic

Traffic on Dhaka's leading roads came to a halt due to the long spell of rain and Awami League's founding anniversary rally.  Huge lines of stranded cars were seen on key roads. According to police, a long spell of shower and the AL rally caused a dreadful traffic jam Monday.
Scores of AL supporters coming from various parts of Bangladesh to join the rally added to the dislocation.
Ruling party stalwarts stopped traffic on roads before its rally on the afternoon marking the party’s founding anniversary in front of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.
Dhaka Metropolitan AL unit’s organising secretary Shahey Alam Murad was heard on the megaphone instructing rally participants to block the road from the National Press Club to Shahbagh intersection, one of the busiest streets of the capital.
“We will have a programme here. Do not let any vehicles enter from Shahbagh or the Matsya Bhaban,” the ruling party leader told policemen posted at the rally site.
“The police have nothing to do in such situations,” a police official at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s control room told bdnews24.com.
AL Joint General Secretary and former minister Dipu Moni, however, said they were ‘sorry’ for the inconvenience.
Water logging, caused by incessant showers since morning, decreased space on various roads, and malfunctioning cars added flare to the gridlock.
"For four long hours, vehicles were unable to either leave or enter the city," Dhaka Metropolitan Police Control room operator Johura Akhter told bdnews24.com.