S M Mizanur Rahman
The government has taken all out measures to repair all roads and highways for smooth vehicular movement during the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Azha. The ministry concerned has already instructed the relevant authorities to implement the measures on priority basis. The measures have been adopted in the wake of the dilapidating conditions of a number of roads and highways following incessant raining and the current flooding.
Developing big potholes and cracks on innumerable points, these roads and highways have become unfit for smooth movement of transports, triggering fear of making Eid holidaymakers’ journey hazardous. According to the Highway Development and Management (HDM), evaluation, over 8,664 kilometres of the country’s roads and highways on different routes are in a bad shape following the torrential rain and flooding.
The flood and heavy rains have also caused damages to many portions of the country's 11 important roads and highways. Besides, small bridges and culverts have been damaged, in some cases totally washed away, across the country. The government will repair all the run-down roads before Eid-ul-Azha on priority basis.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday said the roads and highways badly damage or affected due to rain and flood water would be repaired on emergency basis ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. “The government has planned to give priority to repairing all existing roads along with construction works across the country aimed at smooth movement of motor vehicles. And the affected roads and highways are being repaired on emergency basis. We are expecting that the repairing work will be completed before Eid,” he told journalists at his Secretariat office on Monday.
Replying to a query, he said the roads and highway division has undertaken different programmes to bring the highways in normal condition side by side taking up immediate measures to keep those operational. About truck, lorry and heavy vehicles movement, the minister said that these vehicles won’t be permitted on highways three days before and after Eid-ul-Azha.
“The condition of highways is now better and hopefully there will be no traffic gridlock on highways this year,” he said. Rundown roads and highways in the country’s most districts have become a deathtrap for commuters as maintenance remains elusive. Thousands of buses, coaches, trucks and covered vans vehicles carrying passengers or goods in these routes everyday stare at breakdowns or accidents because of the worsening conditions of the country's national highways and roadways.
Big potholes and cracks have already developed in Mirsarai and different areas on 192km Dhaka-Chattogram highways. About 20-km stretch from Barodaroga hut Dhumghat Bridge was in a rundown condition for a long time. And the latest incessant rain and flood deteriorated the situation further widening the potholes and cracks.
Apart from Mirsarai, the HDM report says about 38-km highways crisscross through Feni district also became vulnerable. Passengers often fail to reach their destinations on time as vehicles crawl along these decrepit roads and highways. Such roads also damage the vehicles, transport owners said. Besides, a large number of potholes and cracks have also surfaced on Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Khulna, Dhaka-northern regions and other roads and highways due to incessant rain and flood.
“On the other hand, as development work is also going on some national highways, vehicle speeds remain curbed in those places. These sufferings will end once those projects are complete,” the Road Transport and Highways Division said,” an official of RHD said. The officials said that decrepit roads across the country include the Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka- Tangail, Jessore-Khulna highway, the Sirajganj-Bogra highway, the Joydevpur-Chandra highway, the Gazipur to Tongi Bridge highway and Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj highway became vulnerable.
Besides, the Rajshahi-Natore highway, the Bonpara-Sirajganj highway, the Khulan-Satkhira highway, the Barisal-Patuakhali highway, the Lalmonirhat-Atidmari highway and the Sylhet region are also in bad shape. Apart from them, the Kaliakoir bypass, the Mirzapur bypass, Pakullah, Korotia on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, Tongi railway station area, and Bogra bypass on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway also became venerable.
On the other hand, Mymensingh to Jamalpur via Muktagachha highway, Hatikumrul, Raiganj and Kazipur of Sirajganj-Bogra highway, Vulta at Gawchhiya and Mohipal in Feni on Dhaka-Chittagong highway are in dilapidated condition for a long time in absence of timely maintenance. Over 20-km-long highway from Gazipur Chowrasta-Tongi Bridge remains dilapidated condition for a long time.
As the road has become unfit for vehicular movement due to huge craters and potholes, as well as erasing of the concrete, it takes four to five hours to cross the 20-km stretch. Industrial effluents, stagnant rain water, and garbage strewn across the road have made the situation worse. Besides, the 15-km stretch from Joydevpur to Chandra is in a rundown condition for a long time.
A-65 km stretch from Chandra-Elenga on the Dhaka-Tangail highway also became vulnerable condition due to innumerable potholes caused by rainwater and absence of repair work. Besides, people on the Bogra-Sirajganj route have to spend hours on the highways due to acute gridlock because of bad roads. The road conditions at Hatikumrul, Kazipur, Raiganj are the worst.
