Prospect of a second Dhaka-Sylhet road link
At present the only road that connects Dhaka with Sylhet is N2 via Bhairab Bridge. The printed maps as well as Google Earth show that there is another road, R-370, which connects Mymensingh and Sunamganj. But in reality about 20 km road between Dharampasha and Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj is yet to be complete.
I decided to explore the area myself. As we reached there it was raining and the village roads inside the haor area became unsuitable for our motorbikes. But we didn't give up; we pushed the motorbikes from Joysree union of Dharampasha upazila to Mannan Ghat of Jamalganj upazila. We took hundreds of photographs which project that the people living in these two upazillas have cultivated every possible inch of the vast lands. The villagers mentioned that lack of communication during emergency, especially when someone is critically ill, is the most serious problem of the area.
If this 20 km road R-370 is completed, people of Sylhet division will get an alternate and shorter road to come to Dhaka via Mymensingh. Secondly, if the rail link is extended from Mohanganj to Sylhet-Chhatak railroad, alternate railway link can be established, too. We have seen how R&H department has built the 66 km excellent highway inside the Chalan Bil connecting Bonopara and Hatikumrul. Assuming the expertise of our engineers, we strongly believe that soon the incomplete portion of R-370 will be completed and a second road communication will be established with Sylhet division.
Anwarul Hasan Sufi, Ph.D
Professor
Department of Psychology, University of Rajshahi
Comments