Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The much-awaited four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway have been ready for use long back. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina .. The four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway was expected to’ boost trade and tourism by connecting the capital with the port city. Business leaders say the highway will work as the country’s economic lifeline by shortening travel time and easing traffic movement.’
As highway police reported:’ 30,000 to 35,000 vehicles run on the Dhaka-Chittagong route everyday. Expansion work of the much-hyped 190.48-km-long highway to turn it into dual carriageways has been finished, said the roads and highway department (RHD). All the 23 bridges and 242 culverts on the highway stretch have been reworked’ and 80 per cent of the construction work for three railways overpasses at Chittagong Fuzdarhat, Feni and Comilla has been completed.’
According to a report: ‘As the country’s prime port is situated in Chittagong, the road is the most important link for business and communication. The Chittagong Port handles about 6,000 TUES (twenty feet equivalent container) every day and more than 5,000-6,000 trucks leave the port for other parts of the country. The four-lane highway project was undertaken in 2006 and the design was finalised in 2010. The expansion work began in 2011 at a cost of Tk. 1,655 crore.’
Even then I have not dared to travel from Chittagong to Dhaka by bus for the last couple of years. I cannot afford to endure the traumatic bus journey on the dilapidated Dhaka – Chittagong highways dotted with broken roads, mud, holes and periodic marketplaces. There are reports that the passengers got struck in tremendous traffic jams on highway for a couple of hours due largely to rundown condition of road.
Highway hazards have now become pervasive problem in Bangladesh. . Unmanageable traffic troubles passengers in the long journey. Of late we have a plenty of news reports about bus service being stopped as road has become totally unfit for highway traffic movement. In chittagong 78 kilometer road from Chittagong to Barai/daraghat, Mirsarai, 144 kilometer Chittagong Cox’s Bazar, about 100 kilometer from Chittagong to Rangamati, several other points of Dhaka-Chittagong highways and many other inter-city road communications within Chittagong district have been in ramshackle conditions for long time with road and highways authorities passing time in a blissful slumber. We cannot dare start for Hill districts bus during the monsoon.
Uneven roads and traffic gridlock has destabilized road communication in the country. The highway situation has deteriorated due to intermittent heavy downpour during this monsoon. Terrible roads have left business in sorry state. The vehicles carrying everyday passengers as workers and service holders cannot timely reach the desired point due to poor road conditions. More rush of buses, microbus, minibus, car, truck take alternate route creating excessive pressure on the road in good conditions. Worsening road conditions in highway points has left a damaging impact on mills and factories in the commercial and port city. . Lorries, trucks and containers cannot enter the industries due to narrow and broken roads. Many of factories like garments, fish processing etc. are finding it hard to make timely shipment of their exportable items thus threatening to cause heavy financial loss to the owners in the port area. .
Home bound commuters on the occasion of Eid-ul-fitr are facing immense sufferings on the way home as most highway roads are in bad shape. Roads in the face of Eid rush need to be repaired. Road works undertaken by the concerned departments have been in limbo amid fund crunch. The concerned department like Roads and Highways department (RHD) mentioned lack of funds as the reason behind Inability in timely maintenance of roads. The officials revealed that fund allocated for project under ’emergency rehabilitation of damaged roads’ was not sufficient.
Of late there has been an increasing institutional concern for a planned urbanization to make Dhaka and Chittagong suitable for living. Urban development authorities like RAJUK and CDA are supposed to do the needful according to Master Plan. These implementing agencies do not have adequate infrastructural facilities, manpower and recourses to implement the plan. Besides, co-ordination among the operating development agencies like City Corporation, urban development authorities, environment department, WASA, PDP, to mention a few, is awfully missing.
Rains have created holes at different parts of Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. Roads and Highways Department (RHD) said they already started repair works there.The bdnews24.com correspondent saw works were going on at Chhoto Daroga Haat, Boro Daroga Haat, Sitakunda Bypass and Kumira Bypass. Dhaka-Chittagong Highway Four-Lane Project Deputy Director Arun Alo Chakma told bdnews24.com July 20 was the deadline set for repairs of the highway.
“Works are going on to fill the holes in the highway’s rundown parts.”
Despite some major omissions only blaming the Ministry of Communucation would do little to improve highway situation. Thing is that challenge of repairing the shattered highways is difficult to meet. Repairing works done and attempted to complete in a great hurry during rainy season only bring temporary relief. Then the resultant cracks and formation of holes create a mammoth problem for the concerned authorities who are exposed to public criticism for unplanned road development.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Department of Public Administration, Chittagong University)
