Covered van breaks down on Meghna-Gomti bridge slope, 13km tailback in Gazaria leaves travellers stranded

A severe traffic jam stretching for about 13 kilometres has built up on the Cumilla-bound lane of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the Gazaria area of Munshiganj. Passengers of long-distance buses, drivers of cargo trucks and other travellers have been left in extreme distress.

According to highway police and local sources, a cargo covered van suddenly broke down at around 7:30am on Friday (13 November) on the Cumilla-bound lane on the slope of the Meghna-Gomti bridge in the Daudkandi section of the highway. With the vehicle stuck on this crucial lane on the bridge slope, traffic on that route was badly disrupted.

As the morning wore on and vehicle pressure on the highway increased, traffic at one point came to a complete standstill. A long tailback formed over about 13 kilometres, from the bridge slope through the Gazaria section.

Vehicles caught in the jam remained standing in one place for long periods. In some stretches, traffic was moving only intermittently and at a very slow pace. Passengers had to endure severe suffering while stuck on the road for hours.

Highway police said they were working to bring the situation under control. Md Moniruzzaman, in-charge of the Bhoberchar highway police outpost, said efforts were under way to remove the covered van that had broken down on the slope of the Meghna-Gomti bridge.

Police expressed hope that once the vehicle is removed with a wrecker, traffic on the highway will return to normal within an hour.