15km tailback on Dhaka-Chattogram highway, passengers suffer

A 15-kilometre stretch of gridlock has been created on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the Cumilla section due to slow-moving repair work and large potholes caused by continuous rain, leaving thousands of passengers and transport workers heading towards Dhaka and Chattogram in severe distress.

The tailback started from the Amtali section in the Mainamati area of the highway from Friday morning and spread to Suagazi in Sadar Dakshin upazila on both lanes. Although vehicles moved slowly until the afternoon, the situation did not fully return to normal.

Visiting the scene, long queues of vehicles were seen in the Amtali area due to ongoing repair work. The gridlock did not clear even after midday. Around 2:45pm, SI Anisur Rahman of Mainamati Highway Crossing Police Station said there was pressure on vehicles due to the repair work. However, traffic was not at a standstill; it was moving slowly.

Transport workers said the tailback had started from early Friday morning. As time passed, vehicle pressure on the Dhaka-bound lane increased further, causing extreme suffering for passengers and drivers. Almas Khan, a businessman travelling to Dhaka with his family from Feni, said he got stuck in the traffic jam in the Paduar Bazar area around 12pm. It took him two and a half hours to reach Mainamati from there. Several ambulances carrying patients were also seen stuck in the congestion.

Meanwhile, on Friday morning, an emergency report was sent from Mainamati Crossing Highway Police Station to the Police Superintendent of Highway Police Cumilla Region, stating that large potholes had formed in the Amtali area adjacent to Cumilla Cantonment due to rainwater damaging the road. As a result, vehicles were moving in a stop-and-go manner on the Dhaka-bound lane. Many drivers attempted to go on the wrong side due to the congestion, causing the jam to spread to the Chattogram-bound lane as well. Additional personnel, including two mobile teams of Highway Police, have been deployed to control the situation.