All of the five mega development projects the government has taken targeting the next general election are now lagging behind the schedule. These projects were chosen when the government failed to accelerate 10 fast-track projects in the previous years. But none of them, including the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Metro Rail, Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar-Gundum Rail Link, Matarbari Coal-fired Power Plant and Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, will be visible in due time if the present trend continues.
Of them, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge construction work is increasingly getting complicated and lengthy for difficulties that have shown up with its design. It has already put the project around one year behind the schedule. According to media reports, the project office is now facing with new problems with eight more piers of the 6.15-kilometre bridge, some of which have already been partially constructed, while it was trying to solve design-related problems concerning 14 other piers. It is learnt that engineers concerned have expressed worries about 22 piers, out of total 40.
In a quick effort, a span of the bridge was installed over two piers. But the progress of bridge construction was 12 per cent behind the schedule until November last and 15 per cent in river training. The situation is not much improved till the date. As per official statement, 50 per cent of the total work has been completed.
Significantly, the current complication arose for starting construction before confirmation of all the piers and for not conducting detailed river surveys in line with universal norms. And the main reason was that, the government had tried to complete the country’s largest bridge by December 2018 with a cost of USD 3.8 billion ahead of the next elections. It was nothing but projection of development! There are more things.
Despite several promises, the government still could not save the people from the nagging traffic jam. The city’s busy roads, even lanes and by lanes, often remain jam-packed with stranded vehicles due to digging by different departments and metro rail construction. The situation turns for the worse due to reluctant mood of the traffic men against lane violators, illegal parking and others. It is alleged the special drives, taken by traffic department, resulted in pocketing extra money by some policemen.
In over a decade, seven flyovers have haphazardly been built to ease traffic congestions in Dhaka defying objections of communication experts. It is now clear that these are not as effective as expected while traffic jam still remains as a major problem. The situation is also the same in second largest city Chittagong where flyovers have been putting additional trouble to the commuters.
Funny thing is that, the government has constructed the flyovers one after another for ‘projecting development instead of real development’ as their target is next election.
On the other hand, the Strategic Transport Plan or STP was not properly implemented. One example would clear the situation. Three Bus Rapid Transport or BRT projects and three Mass Transport Rapid or MRT projects were recommended in the STP to link the city’s north and south parts. But at the beginning no step was taken to implement the projects by the authorities concerned for the reasons best known to them.
Waterlogging is another big problem for almost all major cities across the country, but the government has failed to address the crisis in the last couple of years due to inefficiency and corruption of some officials and party’s local leaders. Several projects with a cost of thousand crores of taka went apparently futile to protect the cities from waterlogging.
Though the government is projecting its development, the country’s real economic condition was described by the CPD very well. On Saturday, it said the government is going to hold the next national election with a weaker economic management mainly because of crippled banking sector. Suggesting the government to show ‘political farsightedness’, the CPD also asked to go through a ‘conservative economic management’ ahead of the polls.
Last but not least. Country’s overall human rights situation was as alarming last year as it had been in the previous year, according to the annual report of the Ain O Salish Kendra.
We think, projecting development instead of real development would bring more miseries to the people rather than giving them a comfortable life. If the government’s main objective is to win next election by any means, no doubt the people’s sufferings would be ignored.
