"What is the use of having sophisticated electronic signal lights at main crossings if they are not made good use of?" queried Lutfar Rahman, an Uttara resident. " After all, the government has spent a large amount of money in installing these lights," he added.

"We suffer the most. The traffic lights are not put to proper use," he said, adding that this takes more time than necessary at crossing points. Commuters on link roads face more problems than VIP road users.

"My brother was seriously ill and I was on my way to the hospital. But I had to wait over 30 minutes at the signal post at the Bangla Motor link road crossing before the line of vehicles was released," said Ahsan Ali, a Dhaka University student, who was rushing his brother to hospital.

"Are we not citizens with equal rights in this country? Why does the traffic system favour VIPs?" he asked.

Sometimes, the red (stop) light flashes on the signal post, when the traffic officer says 'go' and vice-a-versa.

"I wanted to drive past a signal post when the light was green, but the officer's stretched-out hand prevented me from doing so," said Shoeb Ahmed, a private car owner, who was stuck at the Katabon traffic signal post

"Manual traffic control makes the already complex system chaotic. We should ensure utmost use of the modern electronic traffic systems prevailing in the network,," said Ahsan Habib Rupak, an urban planning specialist of BUET.

"To maintain the traffic lights, non-motorised vehicles should be removed from major roads," he added.

"Most drivers are unaware of traffic rules and try to avoid them causing traffic jams and disorder. Obeying the signal lights is a must for all drivers," said Enamul Huq, a traffic sergeant. "We use hand signals in place of the electronic system during rush hours," explained Huq.

"We keep to the direction of traffic police and sergeants. If they want to ensure the application of signal lights, we will maintain it," Ashraf, a Mirpur-Gulistan route bus-driver told the Star City.

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) installs and maintains the traffic lights in the city.

Executive engineer of Dhaka City Corporation Ashikur Rahman said, "DCC installs the signal lights for smooth traffic movement. Traffic police are trained by DCC to control the electronic lights."

"Sometimes we have to control vehicles manually to reduce traffic jam and give priority to VIPs. More so, most of the signal posts are out of order. DCC hopes to bring the system back to normalcy by June. After the work is complete we can totally avoid the manual system," said Sarwar Alam, Deputy Police Commissioner of Traffic (south).