Agitated holiday travelers have set fire to a magistrate's car in Bikramhati of Tangail Sadar upazila while protesting against the 30km tailback stretching from Bangabandhu Bridge to Mirzapur.
They set the North-Bengal-bound car of Executive Magistrate Rokonuzzaman ablaze on Tuesday (Jun 4) afternoon, confirmed the sadar upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Sukhmoy Sarker.
"Rokonuzzaman left his car in Bikramhati area to walk a few paces ahead, when protestors found his car empty and set it on fire," Sukhmoy told Bangla Tribune.
As of 12:45pm on Tuesday, vehicles have remained stationary since 6:40am on the Bangabandhu Bridge, as authorities closed the road at the toll plaza around that time due to excessive pressure of vehicles traveling for Eid.
Passengers have gotten down from their vehicles and set fires, using straw and hay on the side of the road on Garinda bypass, out of frustration with being stuck in the same place for 5-6 hours.
"Nothing has moved an inch since the morning," said Kawsar Hossain, one such suffering holidaymaker. "Vehicles on Garinda bypass have stayed motionless for hours."
Golam Mostofa, another holidaymaker facing the brunt of the huge tailback, said: "Everyone is suffering, especially the women and children. A few are falling sick as they cannot even use the bathroom."
Commuters on the Dhaka-Sirajganj highway are also facing similar hardships, as a similar 30km tailback was also found there, our correspondent said.
Madhupur circle Senior Assistant Police Superintendent Kamran Hossain said: "The toll plazas have remained closed in Sirajganj area due to excessive vehicular movement. No vehicles have moved on the bridge since the morning."
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