- Accidents occur due to reckless speed vehicles
- Last 50 yrs no new road has been built except city bypass road
- It takes an hour to cross a five-minute road
- 3 to 4K easybikes and vans ply in municipality
Severe traffic jam across Satkhira city is now a daily companion in Satkhira city. Sometimes the traffic jams are so severe, it takes more than an hour to cross a five-minute road. There is daily traffic jam at New market and Pakapole intersection, the busiest in the city. Teachers-students and working people cannot reach their destinations on time due to long traffic jams on both sides of Pakapole. It has made life miserable for thousands of people. Urbanization with battery-powered vans and easybikes is the main reason for this anarchy.
Satkhira municipality and traffic department have been working for a long time with initiatives to resolve these issues. But till date the villagers have not seen any visible progress. Pedestrians and commuters complain that there is no footpath in the city. Buses, private cars, microbuses, various government vehicles, battery-powered vans, easybikes are parked wherever they want. Besides, the main roads of the area are congested every day due to the movement of passengers. Accidents also occur due to reckless speed of illegal vehicles.
According to Satkhira Municipal Office sources, the area of Satkhira Municipality established in 1869 is 31.10 square kilometers. The population is about two lakhs. The municipality has 201 km of paved roads. There are 30 km of roads in the city. In the financial year 2017-18, Satkhira Municipality approved 695 Easybike licenses. After that, the municipality did not approve any more licenses.
According to local sources, the width of the road in the municipal area is very less; there is no sidewalk on the side of the road. Now 3 to 4 thousand easybikes and battery operated vans are plying in Satkhira municipality every day. These vehicles are directly entering the city from different unions and upazilas for more income. Due to which the townspeople are suffering endlessly. Vans and easybikes are now the main cause of public suffering.
On Sunday, they were seen staying in the city from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, Shaheed Nazmul Sarani, Shaheed Kajal Sarani, Shaheed Siraj Sarani, Shaheed Alauddin Chatwar on Satkhira-Kaliganj Road to Itegacha, New Market on Satkhira-Jashore Road. Up to House Junction, via Narikeltala-Town Bazar Bridge to Pakapol, Tufan Junction, Illegal battery-operated van-easybikes are running uncontrollably along with private cars, microbuses, trucks and passenger buses at Keshtamoira intersection, Barabazar intersection and old Satkhira road in Sultanpur at reckless speed. These major roads are heavily congested every day except on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tafannun Nusrat Toa, a student of the city's Government Girls' High School, said, "We are facing extreme difficulties in our movement due to van-easybikes." After recess, vans and easybikes park in front of the school, and cars drive by. Being unable to move, crossing the road becomes very difficult. About half an hour to an hour is wasted every day due to traffic jams. It has become very difficult for us to move.
Arpan Basu, a local environmental activist, said that the movement of van-easybikes on the roads of Satkhira has become a serious problem, causing various kinds of suffering in the lives of lakhs of people. If quick and effective steps are not taken to address this, the situation may worsen.
Adv Abul Kalam Azad, Member Secretary of Satkhira District Citizens Committee, said that until the eighties, Satkhira's communication system and trade were centered on the river. But now the only way of communication is road as the waterway is closed. But in the last fifty years no new road has been built except the Satkhira city bypass road. Even the old roads are as before; no effort has been taken to widen them. During this period the population of the city increased at least tenfold. Every day, thousands of people come to the city for business, office, and court. As a result, vehicles have increased more than a hundred times.
He also said that there is a lot of illegal traffic in the city which has no control. Shopkeepers have occupied the sidewalks in various ways. Besides, there is a bypass road outside the city, but many vehicles are moving through the city uncontrollably. If the administration and the municipal authorities work together, it will be possible to solve the traffic congestion in the city, especially in Sangita mor, which is jammed from morning to 10 pm.
In this regard, Superintendent of Police of Satkhira Mohammad Monirul Islam Munir said that Satkhira Traffic Police is working tirelessly to ensure the safety of people on the road. Various decisions have been taken in the district law and order committee meeting to resolve the traffic congestion in the city. Apart from the 695 Easybikes approved by Satkhira Municipality, no other Easybikes will be able to run. Strict measures will be taken to bring traffic under control to decongest the traffic. Everyone's cooperation is needed in this regard.
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