Shawdesh desk:

A festive home journey ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration is unlikely to happen this year as a series of factors are lurking to spoil the joyous road trips of the home-goers.

A nagging tailback on highways, road crashes, movement of unfit vehicles, charging of extra fares and transport crisis will multiply people’s sufferings.

The perennial gridlock on some major highways including Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge, Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga highways and a short period of holidays coupled with hot weather are likely to add to the woes.

This year the Eid-ul-Fitr is scheduled to be held on April 22 while a three-day vacation starts from April 21 to 23, however, April 21 and 22 are weekly holidays.

The road transport and bridges ministry on Sunday held an inter-ministerial meeting at the BRTA Bhaban in the capital with a view to making passengers’ journey home safe and uninterrupted during the Eid.

Presiding over the meeting, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said that in the past 14 years everything was developed, excepting order and discipline on roads.

‘If there is discipline, congestion and crashes on roads will be reduced,’ he said, adding that everyone should follow discipline.

The minister mentioned that many VIPs drive through wrong lanes during congestion while these people should be taught laws at first.

Mentioning traffic rule violations by the ruling party activists during their bike ride, he urged the police to set example by taking action against them.

‘I am only worried about the highways in the northern districts, especially in Gazipur. The lengthy Bus Rapid Transit project is causing traffic congestion in the area,’ Obaidul Quader pointed out.

He expressed hope that this time there would be no problem on the Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet highways.

About the highway connecting Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge, the minister asked the officials concerned to keep Elenga, Sirajganj and Bogura routes passable by vehicles to avoid traffic congestion.

The inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun called for steps to keep toll plazas functional for 24 hours.

The Bridges Division secretary, Md Monjur Hossain, said that they would increase booths at toll plazas at Padma Bridge, Bangabandhu Bridge, Meghna Bridge and Gomti Bridge if necessary.

He added that they would increase separate booths for motorcycles where necessary.

While Nirapad Sarak Chai chairman Ilias Kanchan demanded tough action against movement of illegal and unfit vehicles on roads, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association secretary general Khandaker Enayet Ullah said that they did not know the number of unfit vehicles plying on the roads.

There were also talks on declaring vacation for apparel workers on different days and on insufficient number of transport to flash out people from the city at the same time.

At the meeting, Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh secretary general Mozammel Hoque demanded one more holiday before the Eid to facilitate people’s exit from the capital while the road transport minister said that it was not under his jurisdiction.

The meeting was attended, among others, by former shipping minister Shajahan Khan and Road Transport and Highways Division secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri.

A decision was taken on halting trucks’ movement three days before the Eid, keeping filling stations open all the time five days before and seven days after the festival and conducting mobile courts on roads .

Earlier on March 30 at an Eid preparatory meeting at the shipping ministry, it was decided that the ferries won’t carry trucks and covered vans seven days before and after the Eid.

Bangladesh Railway for the first time started selling advance intercity train tickets ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr online from April 7.

Passengers, however, seemed reluctant to avail themselves of the opportunity due to lack of access and experience.