Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to take preparation from now to make the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha journey as smooth as the holy Eid-ul-Fitr one.
"There will be cattle markets, animal carrying trucks and rains during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. So, the Eid-ul-Azha journey of people will be more challenging than Eid-ul-Fitr's one.
Preparations should be taken from now to make the Eid journey smooth," he said while speaking at a view-exchange meeting with the officials of the Bridges Division and Bangladesh Bridge Authority at Setu Bhabhan in the capital.
“During the Eid-ul-Fitr, there was a united effort, while the road condition was good, passable and usable. That is why the Eid journey was smooth,” he said.
There was no acute traffic jams on roads and highways during the last Eid, Quader said especially in the BRT project area, the traffic congestion that was feared did not happen and the Eid was celebrated without much traffic jam, Quader said.
"This trend should be made more positive in the coming days . . . learn from mistakes," he added.
He said the journey of homebound people ahead of Eid was relaxing and their journey on the way back to work has also been relaxing so far.
The minister said even though so many bridges and roads have been built, positive progress is not being made here.
"But we are not giving up. The work is a challenging one. It is possible to overcome it. A Taka 5,000-crore road safety project has already been approved. The work will begin soon. Once the project is implemented, road accidents will reduce," he said.
Bridges Division Secretary Monjur Hossain and senior officials of the Bridges Division and Bangladesh Bridge Authority were present at the meeting.