Rule violation on Dhaka roads

Of late, violation of traffic rules on Dhaka roads has become a common sight. Apart from the vehicles speeding along the wrong side, buses pick and drop passengers right in the middle of the road and drivers ignore traffic signals brazenly. On-duty traffic police personnel appear to be helpless in the rush hours.
Although the flow of traffic has thinned considerably in the metropolis due to the ongoing violence-laden hartal-blockade, some major roads, nonetheless, remain filled with all types of vehicles. Then there are the omnipresent rickshaws, which these days are enjoying entry to all roads. After the minibuses, it is the rickshaws which are to be blamed for Dhaka's unnerving traffic chaos.
Flouting of traffic rules, manual or mechanised, is a new menace adding to the metropolis's numerous law and order problems. Rampant violation of traffic rules was strange to Dhaka. The malady speaks of a deeper rot being spread in the city's urban life.
Yusuf Ali Mridha
Arambagh, Dhaka