A journey by Rickshaw

Today I went to Dhaka University to meet my friend Miraz Ahmed. With him, I decided to go to Old Dhaka by rickshaw.

It didn’t take long to get to Old Dhaka. We first went to Agamasi Lane and got caught up in huge rickshaw traffic. The traffic was literally static so we had to leave the rickshaw and take a walk to through the lanes of Old Dhaka.

Now let me describe Old Dhaka. The widths of roads have been same for last 200 years, but the population of Old Dhaka have increased tenfold. Therefore, there is always a traffic chaos. Rickshaws are the only means of travelling through the narrow roads there. No traffic lights, no signal, no presence of traffic law. Everyone tries to squeeze through the lanes however they can.

We first went to Bongshal, then went to Nababpur Road. We decided to taste Falooda at the Star Hotel. It was delicious. We then walked around Old Dhaka for an hour. To me, the Old Dhaka looked like a filthy place. Rubbishes were scattered everywhere, non-existence of sidewalk, narrow roads and very old buildings that are nearly falling apart. I know that, Dhaka is in the middle of an earthquake zone, which means that a large scale earthquake may occur in near future. I am really concerned about the inhabitants of the old houses in Old Dhaka. I don’t think those houses will be able to take the toll of the earthquake.

After finishing the visit of Old Dhaka, we went to Dhaka New Market. Bought couple of T-shirts from there and then went to Bashundhara City. I spent an hour there. We went to Farmgate afterwards where Miraz had few things to do. We then took the Bus home. It was a pretty interesting day for me.