Gazipur Highways Face Severe Eid Gridlock as Factories Close

The homebound rush of holidaymakers ahead of Eid-ul-Azha intensified drastically on Monday, triggering long tailbacks and slow-moving traffic on the two major highway corridors passing through Gazipur.

Severe traffic congestion choked key junctions including Chandra Trimor, Safipur, Board Bazar, Bhogra, and Chandana Chowrasta from early morning as thousands of travellers left the capital to join family celebrations. At Chandra Trimor, a major gateway for northern districts, lines of vehicles stretched over several kilometres.

Traffic gridlock worsened rapidly in the afternoon after more than 40% of Gazipur’s garment and industrial factories shut down for the Eid holidays, sending hundreds of thousands of industrial workers onto the roads simultaneously.

Commuters faced extreme difficulties at major bus terminals and roadside pickup points. Passengers alleged that transport operators took advantage of the massive rush by charging double or triple the government-approved fares.

"We had to wait hours just to find a bus heading north, and when we did, the operators demanded completely unreasonable fares," a stranded passenger at Chandana Chowrasta said.

Drivers and highway users noted that the gridlock was further aggravated by local buses stopping randomly in the middle of the highway to pick up passengers and irregular parking near busy market points.

To keep traffic moving, the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) has deployed extra forces at high-pressure bottlenecks. GMP Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) SM Ashraful Islam stated that highway police are on high alert and heavy wreckers have been positioned at key junctions to immediately clear broken-down vehicles and prevent prolonged gridlock.