Monday, December 2, 2024

Highway of nightmare

3-hour journey to Mymensingh now takes over 10 hours for battered roads
Countless potholes coupled with stagnant rainwater on the road have made the usually three-hour journey from Dhaka to Mymensingh a 10-hour hazard.
It was Thursday around 3:00pm when Rayhan Ahmed, a resident of the capital’s Mirpur, got on a bus to Mymensingh to attend a wedding. He reached there around 1:00am due to severe traffic congestion on the highway.
This is quite common for bus passengers taking the route just after a light rain. The potholes on the road become traps once they go under rainwater.
Mohammad Sabuj, supervisor of the bus that Rayhan got on, said all the vehicles came to a halt from Board Bazar in Tongi to Shalna in Gazipur due to knee-deep water at different points.
“We had to spend around five hours here to go five kilometres due to waterlogging and traffic congestion. During the time, I have seen a covered van go upside down damaging another bus,” he said.
According to Sabuj, the journey to Mymensingh should not take more than three hours. It used to take at best three hours to cover the distance just two months ago.
Bus drivers blame the sorry state of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and waterlogging for the agonising waste of time.
Nannu Mia, a bus driver, said at least 20 points on the road are in a pitiable condition, which not only causes delay but also jerking that can throw a passenger off his seat.
On an average 20 vehicles get damaged every day especially at points between Board Bazar and Shalna, he said, adding that they have been spending around Tk 10,000 a month on repairing their bus since the beginning of the rainy season.
During a visit from Dhaka to Bhaluka on July 6, this correspondent spotted more than 20 points where the road is in a very bad shape.
The places include Cheragali in Tongi and Tongi bus stop, Gazipur intersection, Rajendrapur intersection, Bhabanipur bus stand, Bagher Bazar, Ansar Road, Mawna intersection, Masterbari in Bhaluka, seed store bazar near Bhaluka Model Police Station and Bhaluka bus stop.
Of the points, Board Bazar, Gazipur intersection and Mawna intersection in Gazipur are the worst. The locals blamed poor drainage system in the areas as inundation damages roads faster.
Abul Hossain, a resident of Gazipur, said the condition of Gazipur intersection to Ulka cinema hall, a stretch of around two kilometres, has been the worst for the last three months. The road gets under knee-deep water even after a moderate rain, not to mention heavy downpours.
According to him, new settlements have narrowed down the natural outlet in box culvert area, causing waterlogging. Rainwater of Dighir Chela and Out Para areas used to pass through this outlet.
MK Satellite Town, a housing facility, set up a 420-metre underground drainage line near Power House area in 2000, which narrowed down the natural outlet. The pipes used for this are only four feet in diameter and they mostly remain choked with waste.
The locals now demand an open drainage system so that blockages can be taken care of. The Roads and Highways Department has pledged a quick action.
Oliul Hossain, sub-divisional engineer of Gazipur, said they have been repairing the road at different points for the last few days. “We will repair the roads on a temporary basis and a permanent solution will be there once the government finishes the planned four-lane road from Joydevpur intersection to Mymensingh town,” he said.
He also admitted that waterlogging due to constant rain is the main reason behind the damaged roads.

-With The Daily Star input

Related News

Bangladesh committed to sweeping labour reforms: Yunus tells US delegation

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The interim government is committed to carrying out sweeping labour reforms in an effort to attract more foreign buyers to the country, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus told a visiting delegation from the United States. The chief adviser made the comments at his office in Dhaka’s Tejgaon when a United States ... Read more

Health ministry prohibits drug company reps from entering hospitals

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In order to improve hospital services and make sure appropriate treatment for those hurt during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, the Ministry of Health has issued 10 directives. One of these directives prohibits representatives of pharmaceutical companies from entering hospitals. A directive signed by the deputy secretary of the Health Service Department, ... Read more

Over 20 injured in clash between Polytechnic, Butex students

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A clash occurred on Sunday evening in Tejgaon in the capital city of Dhaka, resulting in injuries to around 20 to 25 people. The incident involved students from the Bangladesh University of Textiles and Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. The clash broke out at about 9:00pm on Sunday at Aziz Hall of BUTEX ... Read more

Ex-chief justice Ruhul Amin dies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Chief Justice Ruhul Amin died early Sunday morning at the age of 83 due to health issues related to aging. The chief justice’s office said in a condolence message that his passing occurred around 4:30 am while he was receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. Namaz-e janaza ... Read more

Well-marked low over Bay may intensify further

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) reported that a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal and nearby Equatorial Indian Ocean is still present. This weather system is likely to strengthen further, according to BMD’s morning update. The bulletin indicates that the weather will likely be dry with some clouds ... Read more

Dhaka – Benapole train service, passing over Padma Bridge to start on December 2

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Train services on the Dhaka-Benapole route via the Padma Bridge will start on December 2. Padma Rail Link Project Director Md Afzal Hossain said it on Thursday (November 22). He said, “We are hopeful about the official start of passenger train services on the Dhaka-Benapole section via the Padma Bridge from ... Read more

475 killed in road crashes across Bangladesh in October: report

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 475 people were killed and 815 others were injured in 452 road crashes across Bangladesh in October, said a report published by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh on Saturday. During the time, 34.31 per cent or 163 people were killed and 29.32 per cent or 239 more were ... Read more

Three IUT students lost lives as picnic bus becomes electrified

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Three students of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) died by electrocution and around 60 were left injured after a bus taking them to a picnic came into contact with an overhead bare electric wire in Gazipur’s Sreepur today (23 November) at 10:30am. The deceased are – Mozammel Hossain Naim, 24, ... Read more

Khaleda joins Armed Forces Day event after 12 years

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia on Thursday attended the Armed Forces Day reception programme at Senakunja after 12 years. Chief adviser to the interim government Muhammad Yunus exchanged greetings with Khaleda Zia at the reception programme at Dhaka Cantonment. Khaleda last attended the Armed Forces Day ... Read more

AMM Nasir Uddin made CEC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former secretary AMM Nasir Uddin has been appointed as the new chief election commissioner. President Muhammed Shahabuddin appointed him and other election commissioners on Thursday, a day after the EC search committee submitted the shortlist containing 10 names for those posts. Other members of the commission are former additional secretary Md ... Read more

JU student lost life after being hit by battery-run rickshaw on campus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A first-year student of Jahangirnagar University died after she was hit by a battery-powered rickshaw on campus yesterday evening. Afsana Karim was a student of marketing and a resident of Begum Khaleda Zia Hall. Her parents live in Sherpur. In security camera footage, Afsana was seen walking near the arts building ... Read more

Education must foster creativity : Professor Yunus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus said on Wednesday (20 November) that Bangladesh’s education system must foster creativity to create a generation of entrepreneurs. “We should reform the education system in a way that it creates a generation of entrepreneurs. We need education, which helps students become creative people. Our young people ... Read more

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims observed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was observed in Bangladesh on Sunday as elsewhere in the world. To mark the day, different government and non-government organisations held different programmes on the day. The day is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. Dhaka North City Corporation on ... Read more

Chief Adviser opens waiting lounge at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dr. Muhammad Yunus has opened a new waiting lounge for expatriate workers and their families at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The lounge was inaugurated after his return from the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Dr. Yunus mentioned that he had previously opened a lounge for expatriate workers before ... Read more

Saudi Arabia opens doors to nurses from Bangladesh in landmark move

There are only a few dozen clinicians among nearly 30 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia Kamran Siddiqui Highlights Saudi Arabia has begun recruiting Bangladeshi nurses, marking a significant milestone in overseas employment, as the Gulf nation traditionally employs lower-wage, less-skilled workers from the country. The recruitment process, targeting an initial intake of 500 nurses, ... Read more

DU changes admission test for Ijtema, ‘Ka’ unit exam to February 15

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The General Admission Committee of Dhaka University (DU) has rescheduled the “Ka” unit (science) admission test to February 15 due to the Biswa Ijtema. Previously, the exam was scheduled for February 1. “We decided to defer the ‘Ka’ unit test date as it coincides with Biswa Ijtema,” said Professor Mamun Ahmed, ... Read more

Yunus opens dedicated lounge for migrant workers at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In a heartfelt acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions, the country is set to honour its expatriate workers with a new lounge at the Dhaka airport designed to make their journeys more comfortable. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday inaugurated a special lounge for the country’s migrant workers at Hazrat Shahjalal ... Read more

Khaleda’s 10-year jail term stayed by SC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from five years to 10 years in the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust case. A three-member Appellate Division bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam ... Read more

JnU students end protests after demands met

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Jagannath University students on Tuesday withdrew their movement, for the construction of the university’s second campus, after the interim government accepted their demands. AKM Rakib, an organiser of the movement, told reporters after a meeting held at the education ministry on the day that they were withdrawing the movement. ‘The government ... Read more

Applications for school admission begin

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Admission applications for grades one to nine in both public and private schools have started this morning. Students can start applying online from 11am. The application process will continue until 5pm on November 30, reports The Business Standard. After the application period ends, students will be chosen through a digital lottery, ... Read more