Gulam Rabbani :
Moghbazar-Mouchak area is one of busiest areas in the capital city. Thousands of people cross this area everyday. But they are facing ineffable sufferings due to the lengthy construction work of the flyover.
During a visit on Friday morning at Moghbazar, Mouchak, Santinagar, Malibagh, Eskaton and Satrasta areas, inexpressible sufferings of people were seen. The construction work of Moghbazar to Mouchak and Santinagar to Malibagh flyover is running. It is hampering the operation of traffic. Hawkers grabbed footpaths of two sides of the flyover.
Moreover, the construction materials have been placed in the middle point of the roads disrupting pedestrians’ movements.
“The situation at Moghbazar is chaotic during rush hours, especially with bad and
dug-up roads filled with water throughout the year due to leakages in water pipe and overflowing manholes”, said Sabbir Hossain, a private job holder who takes this route every day to go to his office as he lives at nearby Santinagar.
Thousands of city dwellers are facing the same problems while passing through the area.
According to Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) website, the project work was scheduled to begin on January 2011 and complete within December 2014. But the work actually started in 2013.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the flyover project on February 15, 2013 and it was supposed to be completed in two years’ time. But the construction is not completed yet. The officials said they need another one and a half years time to complete this work.
However, Project Director of Moghbazar Flyover Engineer Sushanto Kumar Paul claimed that, ‘The construction work of the flyover is now going on in full swing. We hope that the project will be completed by June 2017.’
The LGED under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives is implementing the Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover Project.
The estimated cost of the flyover project was around Tk 773 crore. The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) is financing Tk 375.25 crore in the project while OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Tk 196.98 crore and the government of Bangladesh the remaining Tk 200.47 crore. But the project cost of the Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover was increased from Tk 773 crore to Tk 1,218.89 crore, an increase of Tk 446.20 crore or 58 per cent, due to delay in implementation and an increased construction cost, said sources at the Planning Ministry.
Officials concerned said that some changes in the underground structures of the project have been brought so that utility services do not get hampered. This is why the construction work on the project could not be carried out in a faster way, said the officials.
Australian firm SMEC International and its three local associates – ACE Consultants Limited, SARM Associates Limited and Kranti Associates Limited – are working as consulting firms for the project.
The objectives of the flyover project are to ease traffic gridlock in eight intersections – Satrasta, FDC, Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Shantinagar, Rampura Chowdhurypara and Ramna thana where the commuters have to spend hours together during travel by vehicles.
Engineer Sushanto Kumar Paul said, ‘You know Malibagh-Mogbazar is the worst traffic congested area in the city, and of course, the traffic gridlock will ease once the flyover construction is completed.’
Referring to the public sufferings, he said, ‘Underground utility infrastructures and huge traffic pressure on the road have been affecting construction activities. Implementation of such a mega infrastructure project like this one is really challenging.”
Moghbazar-Mouchak area is one of busiest areas in the capital city. Thousands of people cross this area everyday. But they are facing ineffable sufferings due to the lengthy construction work of the flyover.
During a visit on Friday morning at Moghbazar, Mouchak, Santinagar, Malibagh, Eskaton and Satrasta areas, inexpressible sufferings of people were seen. The construction work of Moghbazar to Mouchak and Santinagar to Malibagh flyover is running. It is hampering the operation of traffic. Hawkers grabbed footpaths of two sides of the flyover.
Moreover, the construction materials have been placed in the middle point of the roads disrupting pedestrians’ movements.
“The situation at Moghbazar is chaotic during rush hours, especially with bad and
dug-up roads filled with water throughout the year due to leakages in water pipe and overflowing manholes”, said Sabbir Hossain, a private job holder who takes this route every day to go to his office as he lives at nearby Santinagar.
Thousands of city dwellers are facing the same problems while passing through the area.
According to Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) website, the project work was scheduled to begin on January 2011 and complete within December 2014. But the work actually started in 2013.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the flyover project on February 15, 2013 and it was supposed to be completed in two years’ time. But the construction is not completed yet. The officials said they need another one and a half years time to complete this work.
However, Project Director of Moghbazar Flyover Engineer Sushanto Kumar Paul claimed that, ‘The construction work of the flyover is now going on in full swing. We hope that the project will be completed by June 2017.’
The LGED under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives is implementing the Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover Project.
The estimated cost of the flyover project was around Tk 773 crore. The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) is financing Tk 375.25 crore in the project while OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Tk 196.98 crore and the government of Bangladesh the remaining Tk 200.47 crore. But the project cost of the Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover was increased from Tk 773 crore to Tk 1,218.89 crore, an increase of Tk 446.20 crore or 58 per cent, due to delay in implementation and an increased construction cost, said sources at the Planning Ministry.
Officials concerned said that some changes in the underground structures of the project have been brought so that utility services do not get hampered. This is why the construction work on the project could not be carried out in a faster way, said the officials.
Australian firm SMEC International and its three local associates – ACE Consultants Limited, SARM Associates Limited and Kranti Associates Limited – are working as consulting firms for the project.
The objectives of the flyover project are to ease traffic gridlock in eight intersections – Satrasta, FDC, Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Shantinagar, Rampura Chowdhurypara and Ramna thana where the commuters have to spend hours together during travel by vehicles.
Engineer Sushanto Kumar Paul said, ‘You know Malibagh-Mogbazar is the worst traffic congested area in the city, and of course, the traffic gridlock will ease once the flyover construction is completed.’
Referring to the public sufferings, he said, ‘Underground utility infrastructures and huge traffic pressure on the road have been affecting construction activities. Implementation of such a mega infrastructure project like this one is really challenging.”
