Dhaka is embracing relief from the regular traffic jams as the streets of the capital are virtually empty due to Durga Puja, the weekend and the holy Eid-e-Miladunnabi holidays together.
On Wednesday, while visiting different areas of the capital including Motijheel, Gulistan, Shahbagh, Farmgate, Mirpur, Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Gulshan, Banani and Uttara in the capital, this correspondent did not find the usual traffic jam on the roads.
The pressure of daily vehicles on most roads in the capital was not seen on Wednesday. Few private and public transport were noticed.
Many people associated with transport are on vacation due to the normal government holiday for four consecutive days from Wednesday to Sunday except Thursday. On the other hand, many people get five consecutive holidays on taking one day off on Thursday. As a result, relief was seen among people who were in need or went out to travel.
Ashraful Alam, a private job holder, told Bangladesh Post, “Today (Wednesday) we are travelling from one place to another in the quickest time. We are enjoying it. This (empty Dhaka) is not seen even on Eid.”
Kamrul Ahsan, a traffic member in charge of Mohakhali traffic signal, said that there has been no traffic since morning.
“Even if the bus comes from time to time, there are not many passengers in it. However, long distance buses are leaving from Mohakhali bus terminal with seats full,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, some people have had bitter experiences during that day due to the absence of more people on the streets.
Simanto, a middle-aged rickshaw driver, took a rickshaw to the roads of Dhaka in the morning like every day.
He said, “I came to the road in the morning on Wednesday and saw that there were no passengers. I did not earn much money the whole day. I earned only Tk 200 while I usually earn Tk700 to Tk800.”
Talking to Bangladesh Post, Abul Karim, a nut seller, said he sold only Tk 300 on Wednesday due to few people being on the streets.
Biplob, a ride sharing driver, said, “I am passing an idle time during most of the day today (on Wednesday) due to lack of passengers for the long holiday. I cannot even manage the fuel price.”