Massive traffic jam in Ishwarganj, public suffering at its peak

Md.Salim Ishwarganj (Mymensingh) Correspondent: In the Ishwarganj Municipal Bazararea of ​​the Mymensingh-Kishoreganj highway, various businesses are occupyingthe sidewalks and auto-rickshaw parking on the road is causing severe trafficcongestion. This is causing extreme suffering to passengers, transport driversand pedestrians moving along the highway every day.

Locals said that the IshwarganjMunicipal Bazar area is an important part of the Mymensingh-Kishoreganjhighway. Numerous long-distance buses ply daily to various divisional cities ofthe country including Sylhet, Chittagong, Bhairab Bazar.

In addition, trucks and varioustypes of vehicles also regularly use this road to transport goods. But due tothe occupation of the sidewalks in the municipal bazar area, the random parkingof auto-rickshaws on the road and the spread of various market activities onthe road, traffic congestion occurs almost every day.

Especially due to the occupationof the sidewalks in the market area by various shops and temporary businesses,the designated space for pedestrians has become narrow. As a result, manypedestrians are forced to walk on the road. This disrupts the normal movementof road vehicles and further increases traffic congestion.

In addition, the situationbecomes more complicated as auto-rickshaws park haphazardly on the road. Manyauto-rickshaws occupy a part of the road for a long time while passengers aregetting on and off. This slows down traffic and creates long traffic jamswithin a short time.

According to local marketcommittee sources, initiatives were taken to stop parking on the road bycounseling auto-rickshaw drivers several times. For some time, the initiativehas also seen positive effects. But as the number of people in the marketincreases ahead of Eid, auto-rickshaws have once again started parkinghaphazardly.

Meanwhile, a weekly market isheld in Ishwarganj Municipal Market every Monday. Raw markets are set up onboth sides of the Mymensingh-Kishoreganj highway on that day. In addition,shops selling various iftar items are also set up on the road on the occasionof the month of Ramadan. As a result, the traffic jam in the area has becomesevere due to the crowd of the market and the pressure of vehicles. Many times,cars are seen stuck on the road for a long time.

Several drivers of MK SuperParibahan, who are going from Mymensingh to Kishoreganj, complained that theyhave to face traffic jams in the Ishwarganj Municipal Market area almost everyday. Due to this, it is not possible to reach the destination within thestipulated time. Passengers also express annoyance due to the traffic jam andsometimes there are arguments with the drivers.

On the other hand, when we talkedto the footpath traders, they said that they are forced to do business sittingon the side of the road due to the need for livelihood. If a specific place isallocated for the market, they are interested in going there and doingbusiness. It is also difficult for them to do business sitting in the dust ofthe road. Many times, they are also affected by various diseases.

Local conscious people believethat it is possible to reduce traffic jams in the Ishwarganj Municipal Marketarea to a great extent if the footpath is cleared of encroachments, specificparking arrangements for auto-rickshaws and a separate place is designated forthe market.

Attempts were made to contactSalahuddin Biswas, the Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) in charge of IshwarganjMunicipality, regarding this matter, but he could not be reached despiterepeated calls to the government mobile number.