Editorial
City traffic in chaos
There is an absolute need for a solution
THERE is absolutely no question that the city's traffic system is today on the verge of collapse. If one goes through the mess of the last few days on the roads, one will have a fairly vivid idea of the travails citizens are being put through. Dhaka now has a population of no fewer than 14 million people. In contrast, the road network that should have been available for the daily movements of such a vast population is simply not there. Where a modern city should have 25 per cent of its area marked off for roads, Bangladesh's capital has only seven per cent. That is indeed a shame. Where the road network is severely limited in nature, the number of vehicles on the roads is not. Altogether 200,000 vehicles (and among them are buses, trucks and cars) hit the road every day. If now you add the 20,000 vehicles which are introduced on the roads every year, you get a clearer picture of the confusion.
Obviously, there is today a paramount need for the city authorities to get down to the business of streamlining the non-traffic system. The first step in this regard relates to the matter of who controls the traffic signaling system. This is a vital question because of late traffic lights in most cases have been ignored while policemen have gone back to the old manual system of directing traffic. That has only worsened conditions. Which is why it would be advisable to heed the views of the joint commissioner of traffic control, who has noted that while the police are in charge of traffic movement, the signal system is in the hands of the Dhaka City Corporation. Such a dichotomy is plainly inexplicable; and because it is, the authorities ought speedily to resolve the issue. Speed is of the essence because while a very large number of meetings and seminars on the traffic issue have taken place in the last many years, not much of practical activity has followed. Worse, the existing roads are quickly getting into a state of dilapidation, with potholes developing and manholes being at risk of breaking down. As for the pavements that pedestrians need, they have in most instances disappeared.
The traffic situation in the city assumes critical urgency owing to the oncoming Ramadan. It is only to be expected that in the hours before the break of fasting, the roads will be clogged with traffic and so badly impair citizens' movements. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police authorities have suggested that schools be ordered closed half way through Ramadan as a way of easing traffic movement. That is an idea inane at best and outlandish at worst, for it suggests a clear inability on the part of the police to tackle traffic without having some institutions or organizations shut down. Why must school students suffer for the ineptitude of the traffic administration? Obviously, a better way must be found to handle the issue. In the longer term, however, some serious planning would be in order. Else the city will eventually, and soon, grind to a halt.
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