Eid travel this time will not be smooth: IGP

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam has raised concerns that this Eid travel may not be as smooth as last Eid.

He said, "Because of the heavy passenger pressure, traffic on the roads cannot be kept normal."

The IGP further said, "Since there were fewer holidays before Eid, the number of people traveling home in one day has increased a lot. Our law enforcement agencies are doing their best. But the pressure of so many travelers in just one day is making it very difficult for us. We had hoped this year’s travel would be smooth like last Eid, but now it seems that won’t be possible."

Around noon on Thursday (June 5), the IGP visited several locations along the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Chandara of Gazipur to inspect the Eid travel situation.

Later, he told reporters, "To make Eid travel as comfortable as possible, extra police have been deployed on the roads and highways. The army is also helping. But due to the large number of vehicles and passengers, we cannot keep the traffic moving smoothly. Our current effort is to keep vehicles moving slowly but not stopped."

Baharul Alam said, "Traffic jams are caused when vehicles stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. People, excited to return home, are trying to board vehicles from the middle of the road, which slows down traffic. Using force in this situation would be inhumane. We are trying to control the situation by talking to the passengers."

"Many of our officers, who should be in their offices, are working on the highways all night. Some have even walked 10-15 kilometers to do their duty. Still, traffic on the roads cannot be normalized," he added.

Gazipur Police Superintendent Dr. Chowdhury Jaber Sadeq and senior highway police officials accompanied the IGP.