The sluggish progress of road development in a part of the port city has put the commuters to a lot of hardships and is causing inordinate delay in reaching their destinations.
Two years ago the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) had undertaken the widening of Arakan Road, Chittagong College Road, Pathantuli Road, Dhaka Trunk Road, Bahaddarhat intersection and the stretch of Muradpur intersection to Oli Khan Road.
But the projects have made little progress so far. Project directors have cited delay in acquiring the required land and the rainy season for the lack of progress in the schemes.
ARAKAN ROAD
The authorities have dug up the roadside soil to lay drains and kept the soil on the road, which turns the road muddy after a shower of rain.
As there has been no repair of the road for a long time, a lot of potholes have developed.
Schoolteacher Romana Rashid said she does not ride rickshaw on this road as the rickshaw pullers demand extra fares.
Project Director Mahfuzur Rahman said the scheme could not hit full swing as the rainy season has set in.
The road would be carpeted after the monsoon rains, he added.
CHITTAGONG COLLEGE ROAD
The CDA has already failed to meet the June 2012 deadline for delivering the Chittagong College-Kapasgola Road Expansion and Development Project.
Aslam Uddin, a resident of Deb Pahar, said excavation work in the stretch of Goni Bakery to Chawkbazar has been going on for months. Traffic tailbacks have become a common occurrence in the area.
Nasir Uddin Mahmood Chowdhury, chief engineer of CDA, said the excavation work was delayed as they could not use bulldozers to demolish illegal structures in the area.
They avoided using bulldozers fearing it would worsen the traffic problem.
DHAKA TRUNK ROAD
The development work of the DT Road continues at a snail’s pace, complained local resident Md Rafique.
As part of the road remains impassable, commuters often get stuck in traffic congestion.
Denying the allegations, Project Director Mahfuzur Rahman said they have already finished widening the road since starting the project 10 months ago.
He hoped to start the finishing work soon.
PATHANTULI ROAD
Though the CDA had started developing the street one year ago, it has only built about 50 percent of a bridge so far near the Khan Saheb Govt Primary Girls’ School.
Rakib Ahmed, a resident, said the unplanned work has led to waterlogging on the road, which consequently creates tailbacks during school hours.
Project Director Mohammad Hasan attributed the delayed implementation of the scheme to land acquisition problems.
He hoped to deliver the project by June next year.
BAHADDARHAT INTERSECTION
As a flyover has been under construction here for a long time, maintenance of roads has been neglected. Local people complained that the roads have been virtually impassable for about one and a half years.
An engineer of the CDA said any repair of the roads will not help in the long term as it is the rainy season now and the construction of the flyover is underway.
Once the flyover is complete by December, the roads will be carpeted, he added.
MURADPUR INTERSECTION TO CHAWKBAZAR
The development work in this part of the city had started in January last year and a major part of the work still remains incomplete.
The poor state of the road has been a bane for the commuters as even riding rickshaws and walking on the road have become difficult for them.
When it rains, rickshaws as well as CNG-run three-wheelers meet with accidents here, said Mohammad Khorshed, a resident of Panchlaish area.
Asked about the dilapidated state of the road, Project Director Shahabuddin Khaled said they could not take up the repair job as the rainy season was in full flow.
Talking to The Daily Star, communications specialist Engr Subhash Barua said a road development site should have a diversion for vehicles, but the CDA does not have any.
He also blamed the authorities for taking up several projects simultaneously and not following any systematic approach to continue the development work.
Nasir Uddin Mahmood, chief engineer of CDA, expressed optimism about completing all the projects by December.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
