ED: Taking the pressure off our capital city

As ever, traffic jams remain one of the most pressing issues when it comes to Dhaka. But it is good to see the government take a number of steps in recent times to tackle this -- from finally getting the metro rail project moving towards completion, to commissioning a survey to find out feasible solutions to solve this issue.  

In line with these steps, it comes as welcome news that the government has announced that it is moving all inter-district bus terminals out of the city. 

Currently, all inter-district buses pick up and drop off passengers at Mohakhali, Sayedabad, and Gabtoli. Alongside creating a gridlock, this also means that city buses are often parked on roads, causing traffic jams. As such, the problem boils down to too much pressure falling on the roads of Dhaka, as Dhaka is unable to support the transportation load of the whole country.   

Kudos to the DTCA for taking such a forward-looking initiative. Not only does it have immediate benefits in terms of significantly reducing the load on the roads of Dhaka, thereby reducing traffic jams in general, it also ties into a greater philosophical approach the government needs to take when it comes to alleviating this curse from Dhaka once and for all.  

Dhaka is overburdened in meeting the needs of all the people in the country. From housing to jobs, if someone needs something, generally the only place they come to is Dhaka. If the whole of the country is focused on Dhaka, inevitably the system will be overloaded, and that will be reflected in our roads as well.  

This step taken by the DTCA is already a step towards decentralization. This vision needs to be reflected in other sectors as well. If we want to make Dhaka truly liveable, we cannot ignore the problem of traffic, and to that end, we need to take some of the pressure off the capital city by facilitating decentralization.