Holidaysmakers who are heading home to the northern districts on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha have been going through immense sufferings with sluggish traffic movement on the Dhaka-Tangail highway.

The picture was grim on Saturday (Aug 10) morning as it was taking holidaymakers up to five to six hours only to cross Tangail.

It was found on spot visits that traffic movement on the highway had slowed down since Friday (Aug 9) night as authorities said that the congestion in Tangail had been created as vehicles were having a difficult time passing through Sirajganj.

As a result, tailback had formed extending from Chandra to Bangabandhu bridge.

Officer in Charge in Koratipara bypass area on the highway Sub-inspector Mazharul Islam said that the congestion was mainly because the vehicles were finding it difficult to cross through Siranganj.

A 40-km long tailback formed in the area to the east of Bangabandhu bridge since Friday afternoon with vehicular movement gaining temporary normalcy in the evening.

Assistant Personal Secretary to former Health Minister Mohammad Nasim Mintu Sheikh said that he had started from Gabtoli in Dhaka around 11:00pm on Friday and reached Tangail six hours later.

Bangabandhu bridge (east) police station Officer in Charge Syed Shahid Alam said that the tendency tto overtake one another and a sudden increase in vehicular movement had caused traffic to become sluggish on the highway. 

Sirajganj highway Sub-inspector Rashidul Islam, also Assistant Town Sub-Inspector of Kodda police outpost, said that a 15-km long tailback extending from the Kodda crossing on the east of Bangabandhu bridge to the damaged Nolka bridge and the narrow Ichhamoti bridge on the Aristocrat crossing were responsible for the slow movement of vehicle on the highway.

Bangla Tribune’s Tangail and Sirajganj Correspondents provided inputs for this report.