Operation Clean Street

Published in The Independent, August 26, 2009

Going by newspaper reports the day after "Operation Clean Street" was launched, it increased people's sufferings in the streets instead of easing it. In fact, the Prime Minister who directed the concerned authorities to do something urgent for improving Dhaka's collapsing traffic "system" was herself a victim when her motorcade was held up at the Sheraton Farmgate intersection. According to newspaper reports, the traffic police did not receive the message from the PM's motorcade staff and hence she was stranded which was not bad. She did get to see firsthand what the ordinary people suffer every day. Also, this should remind her that her directive is not enough to get things done!

It is not the first time that a Prime Minister has called for improving Dhaka's traffic situation. In the past, our Prime Ministers have expressed concern over Dhaka's traffic. During the Caretaker government, the Adviser in charge held twice widely covered media events to inform the residents of Dhaka that the government would be giving contracts for underground and over ground transportation network to improve Dhaka's traffic. Not surprisingly, nothing happened because these were merely media events that were arranged with full knowledge that nothing would be eventually done.

In fact, Dhaka's traffic has been deteriorating over the last couple of decades and those in charge then knew as much as the public did that Dhaka's traffic would someday collapse unless dramatic improvements were made in the transportation network in the city. But then, there has been no dearth of meetings, workshops and seminars over the years with nothing being done at all to halt Dhaka's so-called traffic system going down the dark hole. We have not added new roads; we have not improved existing ones and we did nothing towards those measures without which Dhaka's traffic network is as good as dead, namely taking steps for modernisation of Dhaka's traffic system by either underground or over ground system of communication or a combination of both.

The existing statistics about Dhaka's traffic are abysmal and should lead to just one conclusion; that it is a miracle that people can still move in the streets. The ratio or area of the city devoted to roads in the context of the size of the city is unbelievable. The greed of the residents for land and the connivance of the city planners have ensured that even that unbelievable ratio is encroached. Due to the connivance of the law enforcement agencies, the existing roads are encroached by small traders and hawkers. The mindless way in which the drivers drive adds further chaos to the pressure on roads and often traffic jams are accentuated by the reckless way cars and vehicles are driven.

The greed of residents has also impacted adversely on our traffic situation in a different but much more dangerous way. A lot of traffic jams, in fact the unbearable ones occur when schools start and end in the residential areas. Let us take Dhanmandi for example. It was built as a quiet residential district with well laid out roads, with adequate space for lakes, parks and even schools, etcetera. But the planners quite rightly did not plan this residential area for a floodgate of schools; hospitals and most definitely not for business establishments. Following our independence, in fact after the 80s, greedy businessmen, dishonest town planners and other relevant agencies conspired to turn this wonderful residential area into a hub of schools, hospitals, now universities and business complexes. It is not just that greed of few people have turned this wonderful residential district into living hell; the congestion and overflow of traffic of these establishments is today a major cause of the hellish traffic situation of Dhaka.

As if lessons from Dhanmandi were not clear enough, the city planners and relevant authorities have "murdered" Gulshan driven by the same greed that drove them to "murder" Dhanmandi. Today, Gulshan has literally become unlivable particularly if people living there have to use the Gulshan Avenue. The Avenue has become the new commercial hub of the city where there is really no infrastructure to even imagine establishing such a hub. Each of these commercial buildings on the Avenue caters to the need of hundreds of cars but have space for parking in single digits. The result of this madness has turned Gulshan into a jungle of cars and vehicles where the residents are close to suffocating while the greedy and rich are becoming greedier and richer.

Once when we used to talk about Dhaka's traffic, we would inevitably discuss the rickshaws as impediments towards modernising Dhaka's traffic. Now very few blame the rickshaws because even without them, we have managed to slow down Dhaka's traffic even slower than the snail's. In fact, tall talk and no action over Dhaka's traffic backed by increasing greed of some of its residents and their nexus of corruption with relevant authorities have created a situation that our Prime Minister faced on the first day of "Operation Clean Street," After this experience, she should spare a moment and consider that those who named "Operation Clean Street" are themselves a part of the problem. Under the present state of affairs, it would be taking us for fools if we believe that there could indeed be an "Operation Clean Street." In fact, those who codenamed this latest move taken after the Prime Minister's anger as "Operation Clean Street" have not shown sincerity because they better than anyone know that such a codename can only be a stunt because they will not be able to clean the streets just like that. In fact, the measures they have said they will undertake to take old cars/vehicles off the street will never happen. Instead, the law enforcement agencies will make money out of such a drive!

Dhaka traffic is today God's business for without His blessing no one should be moving between destinations in this city. Here the traffic police stops us on green lights and looks us in the eyes for stopping on red lights. Here we maintain our traffic lights and use them to ridicule ourselves. Here we name residential areas and hand them over to businesses. Here we do almost everything to make our traffic the worst in the world in which we ourselves often contribute, like allowing our drivers to drive as they like, park as they like. Yet we are perhaps also the most vocal about speaking on our unbearable traffic system. This is why with our traffic we go one step forward and the two steps back.

But then if we want to continue living in Dhaka, we will not have time that our city residents had in the past which was talk about Dhaka's traffic and continue with their greed. We are perhaps in the last stretch if we want to save Dhaka. We must have a modern network of both over ground and underground railway. There is not one city the size of Dhaka in terms of population that does not have such modern network for traffic. Building this network should start if possible tomorrow but it cannot be delayed anymore. Within this modernisation that will take time but must be done, Dhaka can follow Tokyo in improving its existing traffic network. In that city, except the main arteries, all other roads are one-way. The timings of schools can be looked into so that these do not conflict with the office timings in government and private enterprises. Those who drive and those who have drivers must ensure that the traffic regulations must be followed. We could also consider in certain important roads and areas, movement of cars by number plates; odd numbers on one day and even numbers on another. Finally, those who control the traffic on the roads must show intelligence that they most often do not to follow one basic principle of traffic management; make all out effort to keep traffic moving. Most often, we see a number of these traffic sergeants and constables giving directions at cross purposes that strangulate traffic instead of easing it.

We do not need "Operation Clean Street" for we know such operations are stunts. Dhaka's traffic problem is not one to deal by stunts for our traffic "system" is literally in the ICU. It is not one to fool with but one to deal with commitment; sincerity and vision. Let us also not forget that here time is of the essence.