Demand for time to get out of the harmful effects of traffic jams

প্রকাশিত: ৯:২৩ অপরাহ্ণ, এপ্রিল ২৮, ২০২২

Demand for time to get out of the harmful effects of traffic jams

Mir Abdul Alim ঃ

11.2 percent people live in the capital Dhaka. About 500 people live
per acre, compared to 25-30 in New York The capital Dhaka is not able
to handle the pressure of so many people. So there is a traffic jam on
the road. Traffic congestion is a major problem in the capital Dhaka.
Every day around Tk 2,000 crore is being wasted in the capital due to
traffic jams. 20 percent of the total allocation of the national
budget is being lost. Which is about 2.5 percent of the growth.
Besides, the loss of per capita income directly or indirectly is minus
5.6 percent.
This information was presented at the annual research conference of
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) on December 2 at a
hotel in the capital. BIDS Director General said. Binayak Sen presided
over the presentation of about 15 research papers on the second day.
It is said that most of the people living in Bangladesh live in Dhaka.
So the pressure of people has increased in the capital, the traffic
congestion has also increased. 15 percent of the passengers in the
capital occupy 80 percent of the total roads. According to a research
data, at present 15 to 16 percent of passengers in Dhaka travel in
private vehicles. This private car occupies more than 80 percent of
the roads. The remaining 75 percent of passengers use some other form
of public transport. In other words, they get the opportunity to use
only 30 percent of the road area through public transport. In
addition, less than 30 to 35 percent of the roads have been occupied
by illegal parking and various types of occupiers. Besides, the
footpaths of the capital are occupied by hawkers and the city dwellers
walk on the main road.
So how to reduce traffic congestion? Vehicles plying in the capital
are stuck for about 6 and a half hours every day due to traffic jams.
It does nothing to reduce the loss of national productivity, energy
savings or unbearable suffering due to wastage of our labor hours.
This is due to driving everywhere, driving old and unfit cars,
incompetence of drivers and violation of traffic laws. This problem
seems to be getting worse day by day. Especially traveling to
office-court, school-college, college-university, hospital, shopping
mall etc. is like a nightmare. Twelve months of traffic jams in the
city. We do not know if any of the megacities in the world like Dhaka
have such annoying traffic jams.
Dhaka is a seriously ill city today due to traffic jams. Travel has
become difficult due to uninterrupted traffic. Flyovers have been
constructed at various places in the city to solve the traffic
congestion problem. But no effective progress has been made in solving
the traffic congestion problem yet. Traffic congestion is stagnating
the megacity of millions of people in the capital Dhaka. The
stagnation is attributed to the scarcity of roads compared to the
population and the excess of slow-moving non-mechanical vehicles.
Excessive number of rickshaws on the highways, non-compliance with
traffic laws, lack of planning, occupation of sidewalks, increase in
the number of private cars at Sputnik speeds are also some of the
causes of traffic jams.
However, in recent times, broken roads and unwarranted road digging
are also being blamed as the cause of traffic jams. The problem of
parking, occupying sidewalks and setting up shops is very old. With
that, the number of legal and illegal vehicles in the capital is
increasing day by day. There is no one to watch. The BRTA has not
stopped. Even in such a situation, 200 to 300 vehicles are being
registered in BRTA every day. This shows how many cars are getting on
the roads of Dhaka every day. But the road in Dhaka is getting bigger
every day? However, those who are unloading the car are unloading it
when necessary. Using these. There are so many cars, so many new cars
are coming down every day, yet people are not getting seats in public
buses. Pushing and even hanging at the gate, many are moving around
the city at risk. And the streets of the city are being filled with
such innumerable vehicles. Crowds of people inside the car, crowds of
people outside the car. People are chirping on the sidewalks too. In
fact our country has no momentum; There is misfortune. How many years
do the people of Dhaka have to be stuck on the road from the cradle to
the grave in the state of traffic jam? As one, it is seven and a half
years. The average life expectancy of the people of Bangladesh is now
6 years. As such, the estimated time of travel from the cradle to the
grave will be at least seven and a half years. It is not the wrath of
the unseen, it is the wrath of man.
As many roads as we have, it is possible to reduce the traffic
congestion by 60 percent if we take various steps in the current
context. We visit Mecca, Medina, the biggest cities in the world even
during Hajj; If we look at the traffic control system during the big
events including the Olympic Games, we can see how easily the
countries concerned are controlling the traffic congestion at that
time. The odd-numbered private cars are being allowed to run in the
day like the Olympics. One day an even number of cars will be allowed
to run on the road and the next day an odd number of cars will be
allowed. Outside city cars are not allowed to enter the city during
special moments. In that case, the government is already announcing in
the newspapers that there is no suffering, no traffic jam. Odd-odd
numbered cars can be allowed to ply in the capital on a daily basis.
In the face of traffic congestion, parking problems, environmental
pollution and human suffering in the Dhaka metropolis, immediate
action needs to be taken to formulate policies to control parking
demand, stop free parking and impose fines for illegal parking. To
spend Taking congestion charges for private car movement in the
busiest areas of the city, restricting private car licenses, arranging
public transport instead of private cars in educational institutions
and office-courts, not constructing private car based infrastructure
(flyovers, parking spaces). Increase public transport, fuel-free
vehicles and pedestrian facilities. It is advisable to take money
according to the time and place for parking to ensure proper use of
space and resources and to solve the problem of parking of private
cars. In order to bring the traffic congestion in the capital to a
tolerable level, it is necessary to pay attention to the majority of
low speed vehicles and private cars. Care must also be taken to ensure
that traffic laws are strictly observed in all cases. Consideration
should also be given to removing shops from sidewalks, stopping car
parking in places and reducing the movement of private cars during
busy days. The number of roads in the capital is less than the
population. Even after that there is an abundance of low speed
rickshaws and private cars. Occupying sidewalks and running shops or
parking cars on the street has become a casual affair in megacities.
One of the reasons for the traffic jam is the unplanned parking of
private cars. Car parking is going on uncontrollably on almost all the
roads of Dhaka. As a result, traffic congestion is being reduced on
the road. People are being encouraged to use private cars as there is
no control system in the parking lot. Cars are increasing, parking
problems are also increasing. Although various steps have been taken
to solve the parking problem, no solution has been found. It is
important to find a lasting solution to the parking problem to ensure
traffic control, proper use of resources and space. There is a lack of
proper planning and decision making to reduce traffic congestion in
the capital. There is no substitute for private car control to solve
parking problems. Roads, sidewalks, playgrounds, parks in Dhaka have
private car parking for a nominal price or free space. Apart from
this, private cars are being invited in the city by constructing a
building for parking and space for car parking in the building.
In the city center under construction in Motijheel area, 10 floors
have been allotted to provide parking for 500 private cars. In
addition, building construction regulations have made it mandatory to
have private car parking facilities in every building; As a result,
private cars will increase in the future. According to the Dhaka City
Corporation, about 4,000 private cars are parked in Motijheel-Dilkusha
area every day. If private cars are not controlled and alternative
transportation facilities are not provided, it is not possible to
control traffic congestion just by increasing parking facilities. When
cars are parked in public places, people’s movement and other
facilities are ruined. We can’t put personal things on the sidewalk or
on the street if we want to. Roads and sidewalks are being used for
private car parking everywhere. Car parking on sidewalks and roads
disrupts human movement, has a negative impact on nearby business
centers, and reduces people’s right to freedom of movement.

Traffic jams are now an embarrassment not only for the capital but
also for the nation. Foreigners view the capital of Bangladesh
differently due to traffic congestion. It can be said that traffic
congestion is one of the reasons why foreign investment is being
hampered in Bangladesh. Excessive immigration is also responsible for
traffic jams.
The capital Dhaka, with a population of around one and a half crore,
has already emerged as one of the world’s megacities. Dhaka has been
identified as one of the most problematic cities in the world due to
various problems including traffic congestion. Integrated steps are
needed to reduce traffic congestion. It is not possible to solve this
omnipresent problem by taking a single step in isolation. The excess
of vehicles compared to the roads of the capital is one of the reasons
for the traffic jam. Along with this there is a tendency to disobey
traffic rules. Occupancy of sidewalks, misuse of roads is also one of
the causes of traffic jams. This is mainly due to unplanned
urbanization. As a result, the pressure on the roads has increased,
which has to be paid by the city dwellers. Time demands to get out of
the harmful effects of traffic jams. It is also true that the traffic
congestion problem in the capital Dhaka will not be solved overnight.
The government has to solve this problem on priority basis so that the
people get relief from this misery. The reason for this problem not
being solved is population density. About 500 people live per acre in
Dhaka, compared to 25-30 in New York. The population density is
increasing. The commercial office court university must be shifted
from the capital to the satellite city Purbachal as soon as possible.
This will reduce the pressure on the population. It is our expectation
that the government will soon take necessary steps to reduce traffic
congestion in the interest of the people.
@ Author: Mir Abdul Alim, Journalist, Columnist and Social Researcher.
e-mail-newsstoremir@gmail.com