The rush of people leaving the capital, Dhaka, for different areas across the country to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha is expected to start in a couple of days amid hassles such as traffic congestion caused by road construction works, cattle markets on or beside roads, illegal parking and delays in toll collection.

Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of Muslims, will be celebrated in the country on May 28. The seven-day Eid holiday will begin on May 25.

During Eid, about 1.5 crore people leave the capital, while more than 30 lakh people enter the city from other parts of the country, according to the police.

During Eid-ul-Azha, about one crore sacrificial animals will be transported by road, according to the road transport and bridges ministry.

The Roads and Highways Department under the ministry is carrying out work on several national highways, important corridors and other roads, including the Dhaka Bypass, Nabinagar–Chandra, Dhaka–Sylhet, Dhaka–Chandra–Elenga and Dhaka–Chattogram highways, to complete maintenance work before Eid.

The highway police, meanwhile, have identified 94 traffic congestion-prone spots on the Dhaka–Tangail–Rangpur, Dhaka–Chattogram, Dhaka–Sylhet, Dhaka–Mymensingh, Dhaka–Aricha, Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka–Barishal national highways.

New Age’s correspondent in Tangail reported that highway users were fearing traffic congestion during the forthcoming Eid due to various reasons, including overcrowding of vehicles on the Dhaka–Tangail–Jamuna Bridge Highway, four-lane development work, including a flyover under construction at Elenga, rain, unfit vehicles and delays in toll collection.

According to the highway police and highway users, including drivers, passengers and locals, traffic congestion has been identified at 13 locations on the highway — Hatubhanga at Mirzapur, the Mirzapur town regional road, Pakulla, the Karotia, Ashikpur and Rabna bypasses, Gharinda Bridge, Elenga bus stand, the Elenga–Mymensingh and Elenga–Bhuapur regional roads, Jokarchar, the Jamuna Bridge roundabout and the Jamuna Bridge area.

The work on the four-lane road from Joydebpur to Elenga on the highway has been completed, but the four-lane road project from  Elenga to the Jamuna Bridge has yet to be completed.

Due to the ongoing flyover construction at Elenga on this part of the highway, the road has narrowed, resulting in frequent traffic congestion.

Tuhin Mia, a driver of Hanif Paribahan, said that if an unfit vehicle breaks down, it takes a long time to remove it, creating traffic congestion stretching several kilometres within a short time.

Rabiul Awal, project manager of Abul Monem Limited, the contractor for the Tangail section of the SASEC-2 project, said that development work would be suspended after May 24 on the occasion of Eid.

Although work is ongoing in various areas, including the flyover construction at Elenga, there will be no inconvenience as more road space has been widened than has been occupied, he added.

Syed Riazuddin, executive engineer at the Jamuna Bridge site office, said that tolls would be collected through 18 booths, including separate lanes for motorcycles on both sides.

New Age’s correspondent in Sirajganj reported that despite major progress in expanding the Dhaka–Rangpur national highway into a four-lane road, the unresolved bottleneck on the Jamuna Bridge remained a key concern for smooth journeys to the northern, north-western and southern districts, particularly during Eid.

Although the government has approved an international tender to widen the bridge’s upper deck, construction work has yet to begin, raising fears of renewed traffic congestion during the holiday rush ahead of Eid.

Transport officials say that the problem stems from the bridge that forces vehicles travelling on the four-lane Elenga-Nalka-Hatikumrul national highway to pass through its two-lane section, creating severe pressure at both ends of the crossing.

During Eid-ul-Fitr, which was celebrated in March, reckless overtaking and heavy traffic on the bridge triggered more than 100 minor and major accidents, causing hours-long congestion on northern routes.

This Eid, the situation may worsen with the addition of thousands of cattle-laden trucks travelling from the northern districts before Eid.

Syed Riaz Uddin, executive engineer of the Jamuna Bridge maintenance division, recently said that coordination meetings had already been held with the district administrations of Tangail and Sirajganj, additional workforces would be deployed, and the Bhuyapur alternative route would remain active to reduce traffic pressure.

New Age’s correspondent in Sylhet reported that the expansion work on the Dhaka–Sylhet national highway was under way, raising the risk of traffic congestion at several points, including the Gausia-bound lane on the western side of Kanchan Bridge and areas in front of Green University, Ruposhi, Bhelanagar, Itakhola, the Barabo and Barpa bus stands, Chanpara, Golaya Bazar, Madhabpur Bazar, Islampur Bazar, Sherpur, Ashuganj, Bishwaroad, Durjoy, New Town and the Tarabo crossing.

Stating that renovation work on roads and highways is an ongoing process, RHD Sylhet divisional executive engineer Khairul Bashar Mohammad Saddam Hossain said that they were trying to complete the repair work before Eid.

He, however, said that holidaymakers travelling to and from Sylhet would face some inconvenience on certain parts of the Dhaka–Sylhet national highway due to the ongoing expansion work.

New Age’s correspondent in Chattogram reported that the transport owners feared traffic congestion on roads due to cattle markets.

Md Shahjahan, joint general secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, feared that cattle markets on roads would worsen traffic congestion.

‘It usually takes three to three and a half hours to reach nearby Khagrachari, but during Eid, the journey may take eight to 10 hours,’ he added.

Roads and Highways Department chief engineer Syed Moinul Hasan said that their regular work would continue as usual before and after Eid alongside special road maintenance work.

He said that they were also taking into consideration rain during Eid, as many roads currently under construction could be damaged.

‘We will not carry out any work that may disrupt travel, but if small potholes appear anywhere, we will repair them continuously,’ he said.

About the Elenga point, the chief engineer said that there was no problem with the road surface there, but there were issues with traffic management.

He also mentioned cattle markets on highways, the movement of CNG-run three-wheelers and buses picking up passengers anywhere on roads as reasons for traffic congestion.

At a press briefing in the capital on May 12, road transport and bridges, railways and shipping minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said that garment factory owners had been urged to close their factories in phases three days before Eid-ul-Azha to avoid traffic congestion in the Gazipur area.

‘But we are not 100 per cent sure because they [the factory owners] had failed to close their factories in phases during Eid-ul-Fitr,’ he said, adding, ‘So there is a fear of a similar situation this time as well due to possible traffic congestion.’