The traffic department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) says it is difficult to manage the huge flow of traffic using the automatic signals but the commuters allege controlling traffic manually is rather worsening the congestion at various points.

At most of the intersections, vehicles remain stranded for 20 to 45 minutes in long queues due to the traffic mismanagement, the commuters said.

Traffic department officials said the over populated city is unable to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles as road capacity has not been enhanced in recent times.

The city should have a road network constituting 22-25 percent of the total area but at present it has only 8 percent space for roads, they said.

Feroz Al Mujahid Khan, deputy commissioner (traffic) of DMP, said: "A street should have maximum 800 to 900 vehicles plying in an hour during normal times but we have to manage around 2,500 vehicles that causes the traffic problem."

"To control such a huge number of vehicles we have to apply the manual system instead of the computerised signal system," he added.

Feroz said there are 150 feet wide roads in Gulshan where the flow of traffic is thin. On the other hand, the Farmgate-Bangla Motor road is only 70 to 75 feet wide which is inadequate to withstand the huge pressure of vehicles.

The busy intersections like Mouchak, Malibagh, Bangla Motor and Saarc fountain regularly face long tailbacks. Signals at most places in the old part of the city also do not function properly because of the traffic mismanagement.

Traffic officials said freestyle movement of buses also causes traffic problem. The drivers stop the vehicles wherever and whenever they want.

"We need to follow both the electronic signal and the manual instruction of traffic police, which is puzzling," said a resident of Badda.

The drivers said they face difficulties when the police stop them despite green signal.

DMP officials said most of the high-rise buildings do not have parking facilities and a large number of vehicles are parked on the roads causing traffic congestion.

The customers of shopping malls and superstores in Gulshan, Sobhanbagh, Dhanmondi and Satmasjid Road areas park their vehicles occupying the roads.

The DMP officials said smooth traffic movement depends on several important factors such as traffic education of people, proper road plan and enforcement of rules. The police are responsible only for the enforcement of rules.

Dr KM Maniruzzaman, head of Urban and Regional Planning Department, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said, "In no other countries in the world traffic signals are maintained manually. To improve the current situation the cycle of the signals can be made variable according to need."

"Manual signals can be followed only when the programmed signalling system do not work," he said. "Managing traffic with both automatic and manual signals can be very risky. Which way should the drivers look at, the signals or traffic police?"