Editorial
Terrible traffic congestion
Address the issue on priority basis
Traffic congestion, which has always been a problem of highly intractable nature, is now threatening to almost paralyse life in the city. That is what the citizens have experienced in the last three days, as the main thoroughfares remain clogged for hours together with long queues of transports of various modes, greatly restricting the mobility of commuters.
Lack of efficiency and accountability of the agencies in charge of maintaining the roads and controlling traffic is the main reason behind the ever-worsening traffic situation, but there seems to be nobody to shoulder the responsibility. While the Dhaka City Corporation puts the blame on poor traffic management, the traffic managers themselves point to a host of limitations they have. We believe the defensive arguments that these agencies often resort to might have a grain of truth in them, but the greater truth is that the absence of coordination and sound planning continues to aggravate the traffic problem. Even the government's 20-year-long Strategic Transport Plan for the city is now two years behind the launching schedule -- a clear proof of the traffic issue not getting due priority.
However, the issue cannot be neglected any more if we want to avoid further slowing down of city life. The short-term measures that must be adopted immediately should include quick repair of the potholed and rutted roads, which are not fit for movement of vehicles. Likewise, waterlogging in the roads has to be prevented through improving the poor drainage system. Then of course there should be a total ban on parking in the streets, which leads to traffic snarls. And emphasis should be laid on training and stepping up of the efficiency of traffic personnel, a point raised many times over by experts.
However, nothing will produce the desired long-term results if the structural limitations of the traffic system are not removed. For instance, road space in the city is quite inadequate (only 7%) and the predominantly north-south expansion of the city has left the east-west links largely neglected and undeveloped. Moreover, unplanned construction of buildings in many localities with no parking space of their own has narrowed down the roads.
That said, better traffic management, strict enforcement of traffic rules and construction of parking lots can still alleviate to a great extent the sufferings of the citizens caught in the immovable mass of Dhaka traffic. The issue should be high on the government's agenda, given its debilitating magnitude and paralytic effects.
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