A survey has shown that 16.26 per cent of roads and highways totalling a length of 3,000km are under poor, bad, or very bad conditions. A need assessment shows that around Tk 15,606.6 crore would be required to repair those in the current fiscal year, but the government has allocated Tk 3,011 crore — almost one-fifth of the required amount — in the budget and that too for repair and maintenance of all roads and bridges across the country.
The poor budgetary allocation means the needed repair works cannot be done and the condition of roads, particularly the district roads would worsen as they might not get priority for repair. Experts have blamed overloading, waterlogging, and poor construction work for the bad condition of roads, which again is considered one of the major reasons behind road accidents. According to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), there are 22,428km of national and regional highways and district roads under the department across the country. The RHD carries out surveys every year to project the total maintenance costs for its road network and also to prioritise the roads for maintenance, as it does not get enough allocation.
Experts have said the government allows overloaded trucks that are destroying roads long before their service life. A two-axle truck is supposed to carry 16 tonnes of goods, but the government is permitting it to carry 22 tonnes. Similarly, larger trucks are carrying more load against the approved load capacity set by the manufacturers. Most of the roads do not have a proper drainage system, causing waterlogging which leads to their damage.
While experts blame poor construction as the main reason for worse condition of roads, the RHD has said inadequate budget is responsible for bad condition of roads. But several independent studies indicated that road construction costs are higher in Bangladesh compared to the rest of South Asia. The RHD should take into account citizens’ concerns about road construction and do away with corruption. If corruption is not checked higher budget can only mean higher corruption.
