Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday instructed police and experts from the country’s top engineering university to address the capital’s traffic congestion issues.
During a meeting with senior officials from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and two traffic system experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), he called for “quick and effective solutions” to alleviate the traffic problems faced by Dhaka’s 20 million residents.
“We must reduce traffic congestion and find immediate solutions,” he emphasized at the meeting held at the State Guest House Jamuna.
Traffic police were directed to implement pilot anti-congestion measures, such as limiting bus stoppage times to under two minutes at smaller stations on 2-3 key roads, with plans to expand these initiatives across the city.
The BUET experts were tasked with devising innovative, home-grown solutions, with student involvement, for at least one major traffic corridor. Additionally, they were asked to improve the city’s signaling system using local expertise, according to a statement from the Chief Adviser’s press office.
Professor Moazzem Hossain, a transportation expert from BUET, presented during the meeting, revealing that traffic congestion in Dhaka results in an annual economic loss of at least Taka 40,000 crore.
Kh Nazmul Hassan, additional commissioner of traffic for the DMP, noted that traffic conditions have improved in recent weeks due to the deployment of more traffic officers, with full deployment expected by the end of the following week.
Lieutenant General (Retd) Abdul Hafiz, special assistant to the Chief Adviser, along with BUET’s civil engineering professor Md. Hadiuzzaman and DMP’s additional commissioner Faruk Ahmed, also addressed the meeting.
