The Rajshahi city is experiencing serious traffic congestion because of illegal parking of unauthorised rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and human-haulers near markets, shopping malls and other key installations.
The problem is further intensified by the huge number of people rushing to markets for Eid shopping.
According to informal sources, there are about 30,000 rickshaws, 3,000 auto-rickshaws, 1,500 human-haulers playing the city roads and most of them are unauthorised.
The Rajshahi City Corporation authorities, however, said the number of rickshaws would not be more than 18,000.
City dwellers claimed the rickshaws hinder the parking and movement of cars as the rickshaw-pullers, most of whom are illiterate, hardly go by the traffic rules.
Unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands at busy points on the Rajshahi-Natore, Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi-Naogaon highways also add to the congestion in the city.
Although the Rajshahi City Corporation has set up rickshaw stands at different points in the city as well as in all of the 30 wards, rickshaw-pullers do not park their rickshaws at the stands, sources in the RCC said.
Professor Ruhul Amin Pramanick, joint secretary of Rajshahi Association, a civic group, told New Age that the number of road accidents in the Rajshahi city had increased alarmingly in the recent times because of the unauthorised vehicles.
He also demanded implementation of the ban on the battery-run auto-rickshaws, human-haulers and others risky vehicles.
One of the other main reasons behind the traffic jam in the Rajshahi city is makeshift shops on the roads.
Hawkers have grabbed the roads at Ganakpara, Saheb Bazar and New Market and they have set up shops for Eid marketing on the roads, causing serious traffic jam.
A deputy commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, acknowledging the problem of unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands, told New Age that they would launch a drive against illegal parking and unauthorised stoppages.
Source : New Age
