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Dhaka: A nearly 15-kilometre-long traffic jam has developed on the Cumilla section of the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway after continuous rainfall created large potholes and damaged several parts of the road, causing severe disruption for thousands of commuters.
From Friday (August 7) morning, long queues of vehicles were seen stretching from Alekhar Char in Cumilla Sadar up to Suagazi in Sadar Dakshin upazila. Traffic in both the Dhaka-bound and Chattogram-bound lanes was severely affected.
According to the Highway Police, continuous rain badly damaged multiple sections of the Dhaka-bound lane near Amtali, adjacent to Cumilla Cantonment. Vehicles were forced to move slowly because of the large potholes, triggering heavy congestion. The situation worsened when some drivers attempted to use the opposite lane to bypass the jam, causing traffic to spread to the Chattogram-bound side as well.
Truck driver Asadul Islam, who was stranded in the congestion, said he had been waiting in the same spot for hours. He noted that the journey was taking several hours longer than usual, leading to wasted fuel and increased transportation costs.
Bus passenger Jharna Akter said she had managed to travel only about three kilometres between 8:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. She was travelling from Dhaka to her father’s home in Chattogram with her two daughters. Although she boarded the bus at 6:00 a.m., she remained uncertain about when she would reach her destination.
Local residents said similar traffic chaos occurs every monsoon season in the Amtali area. They noted that women, children, elderly people and sick passengers suffer the most during prolonged traffic jams and urged the authorities to repair the damaged road as quickly as possible to restore normal traffic flow.
Anisur Rahman, Sub-Inspector of the Moynamoti Highway Crossing Police Station, said road repair work is currently underway in the Amtali section of the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway. As a result, vehicles are moving slowly, leading to the prolonged congestion.