Though the government and the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges have taken several steps to ease the journey home for Eid travellers, many people travelling to the north of the country are still facing the same challenges.
Tourists travelling from Dhaka to the north were stuck in a 13-km traffic jam from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge on Sunday, the day before Eid.
Currently, traffic is moving very slowly on the eight-km stretch of the highway from Sara to the Bangabandhu Bridge toll plaza.
Elenga Expressway Police Station Superintendent Mir Muhammad Sajedur Rahman said the northbound lanes from Dhaka-Tangail Bangabandhu Bridge to Elenga were jammed between 5am and 7am on Sunday.
This situation is causing suffering for travelers.
However, the traffic volume thinned out between morning and noon. Still, the eight-kilometre stretch from Sara to the toll plaza of the Bangabandhu Bridge remains heavily congested.
Sajedur said vehicles were travelling at slow speed at some points on the Buapur-Tangail Expressway.
According to passengers, drivers and others on the road, the congestion was due to too many vehicles on the road, breakdown of unfit vehicles on the Bangabandhu Bridge, problems with toll collection on the bridge and reckless driving by drivers trying to escape the traffic jam.
The traffic jams spoiled the holidaymakers' good mood.
Those unlucky enough to be trapped on public transport or travelling in open or pick-up trucks used to transport cattle faced the most hardship.
Many people, including women and children, are putting their lives at risk by traveling in unsafe vehicles.
Sajedur said toll collection on the bridge was halted for 10 minutes as some vehicles tried to pass through in an unregulated manner, causing massive traffic jams on the bridge and the highway.
But now the vehicle is travelling at normal speed, he said.
