A severe traffic jam developed on the Cumilla section of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway on Friday, stretching nearly 30 kilometres from the Cantonment area to Miah Bazar in Chauddagram upazila. Passenger buses, cargo trucks, covered vans and other vehicles were stranded for hours, causing major hardship for drivers and passengers. Patients travelling to Dhaka from the southeast region were reported to be particularly affected.

Abdul Mumin, officer-in-charge of Cumilla Mainamati Highway Police Station, said ongoing road repair work by the Roads and Highways Department at Amtali Bishwaroad was disrupting traffic. Large potholes had formed about one kilometre east of the Cantonment area after several days of rain, and repairs were under way. The congestion began early Friday and extended beyond Chauddagram by noon, described by authorities as the largest traffic jam in recent years.

Hundreds of buses and other vehicles used the old road via Chaura-Gomti and Amtali Bishwaroad to avoid the jam, increasing pressure on alternative routes. Highway police deployed multiple teams to ease congestion. Police Superintendent Mohammad Shahinur Alam said traffic ahead was moving slowly, so normal conditions would take time to return. An ambulance driver carrying a patient to Dhaka said he had been stuck for an hour.