KHULNA: Traffic jam on important roads in Khulna city has become acute before the holy Eid-ul-Fitr, causing immense sufferings to the people in the city. It has been difficult for people to reach the destination within scheduled time due to huge traffic congestions at the busy points in the city.
Khulna is a riverine divisional city where there are over 16 lakh people living in 45.65 square km area in 31 wards. Official sources said that the KCC has 1,215 roads in the city with a total length of 640.68 km.
There is no taxi, tempo, no battery-run three-wheelers or even rickshaw stand in the city. The drivers stop these vehicles on the roads for passengers. Besides, haphazard parking of the rickshaws and battery-run auto-rickshaws by the side of markets, shopping centers, educational institutions and key installations are narrowing the space of the streets, hampering smooth traffic movement, alleged city dwellers.
Most of the important roads in the town do not have separate walkways while a few ones mostly remain under the occupation of vendors.
According to the sources, the important and busy points in the city that have been facing severe traffic jam include Picture Palace Crossing, Dakbanglow Crossing, Shibbari intersection, Sangita Cinema Hall Mor, KD Ghosh Road, Clay Road, Old Jashore Road, Cemetry Road, in front of KDA New Market, Phul Marker Crossing, Moylapota Mor, Gallamari Mor, BL College Mor, Phulbarigate KUET Road, Daulatpur Bazar Mor and Sonadanga central bus stand intersection.
Thousands of people from the adjacent upazilas and other parts of the district come to the city to buy various commodities everyday. On the other hand, the rush of people increases, especially during the religious festivals and at the office hours, the roads cannot accommodate space for the vehicles.
A good number of high rise buildings and big markets have been constructed in the town during the last few years. Although most of these buildings have parking spaces, these are often used for other purposes while the vehicles are parked on the adjacent roads, causing problem to vehicular movement.
Licence officer of KCC (vehicles branch) Md Rabiul Alam said, the corporation has provided licences to 17,000 rickshaws and around 8,000 battery-run auto-rickshaws time to time, but the number of rickshaws and battery-run three-wheelers are plying the city roads has almost doubled.
Gopal Krisno Debnath, a battery-run auto-rickshaw driver said, “The number of cars and auto-rickshaws plying the town is too high for the existing roads. Most of the auto-rickshaw drivers hardly care about traffic rules. They take passengers and let them get down here and there and often take turning on the roads.”
Assistant Commissioner (traffic wing) of Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) Gopinath Kangjilal said, “Though the three-wheelers drivers and rickshaw pullers, most of whom are illiterate, do not go by the traffic rules they had taken extra measures to ease traffic jam in the city”. He also said, “Many private vehicles creating traffic congestion here in the Khulna city.”
