Car Market | গাড়ীর বাজার: The number of cars and motorized vehicles is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh despite the lack of infrastructure. Car retailing has become an important sector in marketing. Kuril Bishwa Road, Gulshan, Kakrial and Dhanmondi, are the four main car retail areas in Dhaka. The dramatic increase in car sales in the past decade has lead to major traffic congestion in Dhaka in particular. The demand for vehicles comes from the rich people who desire the luxurious new models of cars.
When looking the Dhaka traffic from the vantage point of any over-bridge one is confronted by a huge number of cars on the roads, which makes it difficult to believe Bangladesh is a developing country in which the majority of people are poor. The increased number of cars may be attributed to increased business activity and a high level of corruption that makes the country poorer. The centralized nature of power in Bangladesh also contributes to this situation. The power holding groups are the main clients of the car markets. On average 400-500 cars are sold each month in the car markets of Dhaka City. After Dhaka, the port city, Chittagong, is the second largest car market in Bangladesh. Friday is the official holiday of all car markets.
As the traffic jams of Dhaka increase due to the number of cars on the roads, congestion becomes a major issue for the city administration. However, the government is now thinking of an alternative transportation system for the city by introducing a modern train system, and generally increasing public transport. Unfortunately much of the blame for traffic congestion is placed on the shoulders of the rickshaw pullers. The World Bank and IMF have recommended that this ecofriendly vehicle be evicted from the main roads by declaring major roads as VIP (Very Important Persons) roads. However, the present democratic government has chosen to impose a large tax on cars imported to control the growth of the industry. Compared to other countries the number of cars in Bangladesh is not a large but they have become a headache for most people using the roads of Dhaka.