Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has blamed ongoing development projects for the lengthy tailbacks in the city's thoroughfares.
The minister also expresses his hope that t the traffic gridlocks plaguing commuters in Dhaka since the beginning of Ramadan will let up soon.
“The Dhaka Metropolitan Police are coordinating with the Traffic Division to redress the situation in the next seven days. We will see some improvement in a day or two,” he while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
“Development projects like the metro rail, elevated expressway and flyovers are progressing in full swing at the moment and this has created some temporary obstacles on the city roads. I believe these obstacles are the main reasons for the ongoing traffic situation.”
The start of the busy festive shopping period has compounded the traffic situation in some parts of the city, according to the minister.
The home ministry has also kept plain-clothed and uniformed policemen on high alert to keep incidents of theft, mugging, and extortion in check during the Eid holiday season.
“We are going to set up new outposts and checkposts while charting new patrol routes on important roads, highways and intersections like the diplomatic zone in Dhaka, river ports and bus terminals ahead of Eid,” Khan said.
The chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Division has assured that all the highways from Dhaka to the rest of the country will be repaired by Apr 25, he added.
This year, Eid ul-Fitr is expected to be celebrated on May 2 or May 3 depending on the sighting of the moon. Around three million people are expected to leave the capital each day for the Eid holidays.
The government will also ask owners of major industries to coordinate among themselves and start their Eid holidays on different dates to prevent a mass exodus of workers, according to the minister.
“The Ministry of Labour and Employment made the recommendation so that traffic on the highways does not get out of hand,” he said.