As the city corporation and authorities concerned pay little attention on carrying out repair and maintenance works, a majority of the roads in the town have suffered heavy damage and require immediate repairs.
Most of the city roads are riddled with potholes, leaving the motorists to face difficulties. As potholes remain unattended for months together in many busy stretches, they have turned out to be death traps for motorists. They are lying in dilapidated condition for want of repairing for a long time. In a visit around the city, this correspondent found that roads of Bagbari, Shamimabad, Madina Market, Akhalia, Chalibandar, Mohajanpotti, Shibgonj and Ghasitula residential areas damaged badly needing immediate repairing. Sufferings of Sylhet city dwellers will escalate ahead of the rainy season, they fear.
Bagbari-Modina Market Road is a very busy and important road in the city. This road connects Sunamganj district with Osmani Medical College Hospital; so, patients from this district and also from nearby areas travel on this road for taking treatment from this hospital.
Also this road is connected with many educational institutions. But this road has remained severely damaged for the last 5 years.
The road is filled with craters and potholes; presently vehicles can hardly ply on it.
In winter, this road produces enormous amount of dust to make it look like a desert in the city.
At old Koshaikhana under Bagbari area, a kindergarten school and a girl’s college are situated by this road. So, the students of these institutions are subjected to immense sufferings through dust inhalation.
Ahead of rainy season situation will go worsen further. A few days ago, when it was raining, Bagbari-Modina Market road from Koshaikhana to Madina market area became so much muddy that vehicular movement on this road became almost impossible. Though the residents of this area asked the Sylhet City Corporation authorities to repair this road many times but; they did not pay any attention regarding the matter.
Resident of this area, Shobhan Chanda and Md Sabul Ahmed told The Independent ‘We are suffering a lot for this damaged road for a very long time. We do not know why the authority is not repairing this road. Although, we have petitioned to the city corporation authority many times but, did not get any response from them.’
Same is the story with Akhalia-Korerpara Road, which connects several residential areas, has remained totally damaged for several years. SCC has started to repair this road a few days earlier but locals of the area are in fear the authorities may stop the work shortly owing to rain which may start any time.
Asit Deb, an Engineer of Sylhet Radio Station and resident of Korerpara area told, ‘This road has remained damaged for several years and many accidents have taken place here; especially school goers suffer a lot for the worst condition of this road but no initiative has been seen from the authorities for repairing this road. Now SCC has started repairing but, we fear this initiative will not run long as rain has started. So our sufferings will not end soon.’
Same is the condition of roads at Chalibandar, Mohajanpotti, Shibgonj, Ghasitula, Shamimabad, Laladighirpar areas; which are also badly damaged. It will more bad during the rainy season feared residents.
The Chief Engineer of SCC, Noor Azizur Rahman told that, ‘SCC has already started the repairing work of damaged city roads. There was a delay to start the work because; we were busy with developing the drainage systems of the city and until completion of that work, it was impossible to start the repairing of roads. But we are hopeful to finish the repairing work before the sufferings start to aggravate in rainy season.’
