If the highway renovation work in Sirajganj is not completed soon, there are chances of massive traffic jam, and homebound Eid holiday makers would have to endure extreme difficulties. As construction work on the highway continues, district police have identified 14 high-risk areas. Proposals have been submitted to the authorities concerned for the renovation of 20 bridges spanning about 51 km of the Chandaikona highway from the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikumrul. There is risk of severe traffic congestion at the 14 high-risk points. Every year before Eid, all the vehicles carrying homebound commuters pass through the Bangabandhu Bridge-West Highway. As a result, there is extra pressure on this highway. Read More: Advance sale of train tickets for Eid travellers starts Friday It is expected that the roads on this route will be repaired by the second week of this month. Bus and truck drivers, in particular, say that if the work on the highway is completed, there will be relief during Eid journey. People of 16 districts of north Bangladesh use this highway to go home from Dhaka during Eid. Every day, 16,000 to 20,000 vehicles use this highway, and during Eid, 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles ply it. Work is underway to widen and repair the four-lane highway – connecting the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge. It has already caused traffic congestion and slow movement on the highway. Besides, the north lane of the newly constructed Nalka Bridge has been opened, but the Dhaka-facing lane has been closed. Traffic is moving through the risky old bridge. The contractor, Akhter JV Project’s Manager Ekhlas Uddin said that discussions have already been held with the Sirajganj Superintendent of Police. Read More: Special train service on Joyedbpur-Panchagarh route for RMG workers for Eid: BR On the highway, potholes will be repaired soon. New four-lane roads have been opened in different parts of the highway. Officials of the local Roads and Highways Department said the renovation work on the risky points on the highway has been supervised. Badrul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station, said two rounds of discussions were held among the district police, officials of SASEC-2, and officials of the contractor company. They have assured to complete the repair work soon. On the occasion of Eid, 10 mobile teams and 16 picket teams will work on the highway. In addition, mikes and digital sign will be installed. Sirajganj Traffic Inspector (Administration) Salekuzzaman Khan said they spoke to the district police regarding ensuring smooth flow of traffic before Eid. There will be 15 to 18 mobile teams on the highway. Work has already started to ease the traffic congestion. Senior police officials mentioned that arrangements have been made to make the Eid journey of the homebound people uninterrupted. Read More: Eid journey: Nat’l Committee demands bike ban on highways for 9 days

Bangladesh's National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways today (April 03, 2023) demanded a ban on motorbike movement on all highways for at least 9 days before, during and after Eid. The organisation also called for taking strict action to stop the movement of three-wheelers and charging extra bus fare on all inter-district roads, including highways, during Eid travel. The national committee President Haji Mohammad Shahid Mia and its general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey made this call in a statement. Besides, leaders of the civic organisation demanded to stop the movement of unregistered, defective and unauthorized vehicles on all roads and highways of the country. Read More: National Committee for taking action against lakhs of illegal vessels They also urged Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to strengthen the operation of mobile court and law enforcement agencies, including police, to implement these demands. Emphasizing safe and hassle-free Eid travel, the statement said that the number of motorcycle accidents across the country is increasing at a geometric rate. Motorcycle accidents accounted for more than 40 percent of all road crashes last year. There is a fear of more mishaps during the Eid season due to the long-distance commute on these two-wheelers. Small and unsafe vehicles slow down larger vehicles like buses and trucks on highways and inter-district roads, the statement said. This increases the risk of accidents and traffic jams. Despite the government ban, various types of three-wheelers including battery-powered rickshaws and numerous locally made vehicles such as Nasimon, Karimon, Bhotbhoti and Alam Sadhu are plying the highways and inter-district roads across the country. Read More: National Committee for reducing metro rail fare by 50% Citing examples from the near past, the statement of the national committee alleged that on many roads, various transport companies charge commuters one-and-a-half to double the fare on every Eid trip. As a result, bus owners and workers earn extra money, but general people are suffering financial losses.

RMG workers set a truck on fire and vandalised several other vehicles, blocking Dhaka-Tangail highway following a coworker’s death in a road accident on the highway in Kaliakoir of Gazipur this morning. Atikur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Salna Highway Police Station, said a worker died as a bus hit him while crossing the highway in Hartakitola area this morning. Read more: RMG workers set fire to 4 buses over rumour in Gazipur The deceased was identified as Azadul Haque, 40, of Gaibandha. He used to work as a security guard at a denim factory in Chandra area. Agitated by the incident, RMG workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, vandalised vehicles on both sides of the highway, and set a truck on fire, said the OC. Read more: RMG workers stage demo for arrears in Gazipur; 10 hurt in clash with cops Later, police brought the situation under control, he added.

Three members of a family were among five dead and three others were injured in a collision that involved a truck, a pick-up, and a microbus on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in the early hours of Saturday (January 07, 2023). The deceased are microbus driver Sadir Ali, 25, of Kamlatila village, Abdus Salam, 32, of Barachara village under Kamalganj upazila; Sadia, 21, wife of Abdus Salam, their two-year-old daughter Habiba, and Sadia’s brother Atiqur Rahman Shihab, 15.     Read more: Road crash leaves two dead in Keraniganj Ashraful Alam, a relative of the victims, said all the passengers of the microbus were relatives who were returning home after receiving a relative named Razu, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Malaysia, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.    Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Madhabpur police station, said the accident occurred when a Moulvibazar-bound microbus collided head-on with a pick-up and a truck when the pick-up was trying to overtake the truck — leaving the driver of the microbus and four other passengers of the vehicle dead on the spot.  Read more: Bagerhat road crash leaves 3 dead The injured were first rushed to Madhabpur Upazila Health Complex and later were shifted to Sylhet Medical College Hospital. The victims’ bodies were handed over to the highway police.  

Two people were killed in a collision between two trucks on Dhaka-Mawa Bangabandhu Highway in Keraniganj upazila of Dhaka early Wednesday. The deceased were identified as truck driver Hossain Sheikh, 25, and helper of another truck Imon, 19. Details of the deceased could not be known yet. Read more: Schoolboy killed in Dhaka road crash Utfal Kumar, sub inspector of Hasada highway police station, said the accident occurred around 2am when a speeding Dhaka-bound truck from Mawa rammed into a stationary truck in Rajendarapur area, leaving the duo dead on the spot. The Highway police station’s OC Molla Jakir Hossain said they seized the trucks after the accident. Read more: One dead, five injured in Bagerhat road crash A case was filed in this connection.

Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Barishal highways were thrown open on Tuesday (October 25, 2022) morning, nearly 10 hours after remaining closed for vehicular movement in the wake of uprooted trees blocking several stretches during Cyclone Sitrang. Around 8:30 pm on Monday, the front part of the cyclone started lashing Bangladesh, uprooting trees. "As the fallen trees blocked at least 80km areas on the two highways, the movement of vehicles had to be suspended," said Taimur Alam, officer-in-charge of Bhanga highway police station. On Tuesday, around 7am, vehicular movement resumed on the two highways after highway police and fire service removed the fallen trees after the rain and storm stopped, said the OC. Read Dhaka office-goers stuck in gridlock, traffic jam from Khilkhet to Abdullahpur During heavy rains and storm influenced by the cyclone, trees broke down in the Talma Pukuria area on the Dhaka-Barishal highway and in Majhra, Majhigati, Risatala, Joy Bangla, Kailar Mor, Mansurabad on the Dhaka-Khulna highway, said police and fire officials. Cyclone Sitrang crossed the Barishal-Chattogram coast near Bhola on Monday midnight and weakened rapidly into a depression by giving precipitation, the met office said in its latest bulletin. Sitrang moved north-northeastwards very fast and completed crossing the Barishal-Chattogram coast, and it now lies over Dhaka-Cumilla-Brahmanbaria and adjoining areas as a land depression, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Read Cyclone Sitrang weakens into depression

Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared six development projects, including the Tk 7,189 crore project to upgrade Cumilla-Brahmanbaria National Highway to four lanes. The highway from Mainamati of Cumilla to Dharkhar of Brahmanbaria will be upgraded into a four-lane one, with separate lanes for slow vehicles on both sides, by June 2026. The project aims to establish fast, safe and cost-effective road connectivity between Sylhet and Chattogram regions. The approval came from the Ecnec meeting presided over by its chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who joined the event through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganobhaban. Also read: Ecnec postpones Tk 236-crore project of Teletalk to save dollars “The total estimated cost of the six approved projects is some Tk 8,739.68 crore (only additional costs of three revised projects were included),” Planning Minister MA Mannan said at a press briefing after the meeting was held at the NEC Conference Room. Of the total cost, Tk 5,929.03 crore will be drawn from the government’s fund, while the rest Tk 2,810.65 crore will come as foreign loan, he said. According to the Planning Commission, the project titled ‘Upgrading Cumilla (Mainamati)-Brahmanbaria (Dharkhar) National Highway into Four Lanes’ will be executed at the cost of Tk 7,188.66 crore. Also read: Metro Rail (MRT Line-6) project cost goes up by Tk 11,486 cr; Gets Ecnec nod The government will finance Tk 4,378 crore and the rest Tk 2,810.65 crore will come from the Indian Line of Credit (LoC). The major project operations are acquisition of 103 hectares of lands, construction of 14 bridges (with total length of 1,218.44 meters), one 1,030-meter flyover, two underpasses, 50 culverts, 12 foot-over bridges, 50-km flexible pavement and 4.5-km rigid pavement.

The taskforce, formed to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the National Roads Safety Council to restore discipline on roads and highways, wants an end to plying of inter-district motorcycles to reduce road accidents. Former shipping minister Shahjahan Khan and a member of the taskforce said this after the meeting of the taskforce at the Home Ministry on Wednesday. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal presided over the meeting. Read: Restriction on motorcycle driving, ride-sharing for a week during Eid Shahjahan said, “There will be no inter-district ride sharing. The matter was discussed in the meeting. We have taken the matter seriously as around 40 per cent of road accidents occur due to motorcycles. We have decided to control it.”  Shahjahan, also the president of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, said, “Many people are saying that motorcycles are being controlled due to the conspiracy of the bus owners. This is ridiculous. We have only suggested stopping long route ride sharing. The government will decide on the matter.” Mentioning that the country has limited dope test centres for drivers, Shahjahan Khan said they requested the authorities concerned to increase the number of dope test centres and reduce dope test fees from the existing Tk 900. The meeting also recommended increasing the number of employees at BRTA and recruiting more highway police personnel to maintain discipline on roads, he added. Regarding the appointment letter of the transport workers by the owners, he said Road Transport or Home Minister will soon inaugurate the mass appointment letter handover ceremony all over the county through the virtual platform.

At least six people died after a dust storm caused a 21-car-pileup on a highway in the U.S. State of Montana Friday evening, said authorities. Six people are confirmed dead and eight people were transported to nearby hospitals after the pileup, which is described as one of the most intense multi-vehicle accidents in Montana, a local television station reported on Saturday morning. "My prayers are with everyone affected by the tragic events during the dust storm in Big Horn County today," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote on his Facebook page on Friday night. Read: Tropical Storm Colin threatens a wet weekend for Carolinas The Montana Highway Patrol is on the scene with other first responders, said Knudsen, adding that more information will be released when it becomes available. The numbers of fatalities and injuries did not change overnight and the accident scene has been totally cleared, Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson was quoted as saying. Information so far showed the wind storm was an isolated, extreme weather event, Nelson added, noting authorities believed that there is no further danger to the public. ■

Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Kuakata highway remained suspended for an hour on Saturday as the students of Barishal University staged demonstrations blocking the highway protesting assault on one of their fellows by a transport worker, police said. Witnesses said when Foysal Shahriar, a Masters final year student of the university, tried to board a bus for going to Dapdapia Zero point around 9 am in front of the university some staff of the bus misbehaved with him. At one stage of heated argument, the bus staff physically assaulted him. As soon as the news spread, the students of the university took to Dhaka-Kuakata highway and put up barricade on the road, halting vehicular movement for an hour. READ: Barishal University student gets job at Google Vehicular movement returned to normalcy after an hour as the students left the highway upon assurance from the law enforcement agencies that they will take steps to settle the issue. General Secretary of Barishal Rupatoli Bus and Minibus Owners Association Kawsar Hossain Shipon said those who assaulted the students were not bus staff. Proctor Dr Md Khorshed Alam said a meeting will be held between police and the bus owners association over the issue. Md Asaduzzaman, Officer-in-Charge of Barishal Port Police Station, said police are trying to resolve the problem.