Dhaka, Sep 18 (V7N): Commuters faced significant delays this morning as various parts of Dhaka were clogged with traffic following the suspension of metro rail services.

Assistant Commissioner of Traffic for the Shahbagh zone, Mehedi Hasan Shakil, confirmed that the traffic congestion resulted from a disruption in the metro rail services on the Agargaon-Motijheel route. The metro rail service was suspended around 9:40 AM due to technical difficulties, exacerbating traffic problems across key areas.

Traffic officers stationed at Agargaon and Ramna reported that the gridlock intensified following the metro rail breakdown. As a result, major roads in Farmgate, Bijoy Sarani, Jahangir Gate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Banglamotor, and Mirpur were heavily congested.

Nilima Faris, a commuter traveling from Dhanmondi to Shahbagh, shared that her usual commute stretched to nearly two hours this morning due to the traffic situation.

Students and office-goers were among those hit hardest by the disruption. Iftekhar Alam, a student from National University, shared that it took him an hour and a half to reach Banglamotor, a journey that typically takes 15-20 minutes by metro. He added, "We went to the metro station but found the service disrupted, so we had to take an expensive CNG amid heavy traffic."

Outside the Agargaon metro station, hundreds of stranded commuters were seen waiting for buses, further adding to the pressure on the city’s road network.

Md Sifullah Toha, a resident of Mirpur, described his struggle to reach Eskaton Garden Road after two hours of battling traffic. His journey involved taking the metro halfway, riding a motorbike, and finally walking the remainder of the distance to his workplace.

END/MSS/