1km road plight of thousands

The one-kilometre Rupatoli road, from Amtola Mor to Rupatoli bus stand in Barisal city, has been in a bad shape for a long time, causing untold sufferings to commuters of all six districts in Barisal division.

The 16-foot-wide road, which is a part of Barisal-Khulna highway, links the country's north to Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Patuakhali, Bhola, and Barguna.

Not only that, the dilapidated road is the only route to all major hospitals in Barisal, including Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in the city.

But the road remains choked with traffic almost all the time due to hundreds of potholes, which leave commuters, especially patients, in trouble.

Shah Alam, a mobile phone shop owner of the area, said accidents, major or minor, are now a common phenomenon on the road.

The potholes have become traps for commuters and vehicles, said Mizan, a truck driver. “Vehicles have to move slowly due to the potholes, which cause unending traffic jams on the road from morning to evening,” he said, adding, Sagordi Bazar is the worst affected place in the area.

“Five passengers were injured after a jeep crashed into my auto-rickshaw around two weeks ago,” said driver Nazmul.

Ohedul Islam, a teacher of Barisal University and daily commuter, said, ”I take buses to the campus, which is located close by. Sometimes it takes 40 to 50 minutes to travel the distance as vehicles struggle moving forward due to the traffic jam.”

Nishat Jahan Ria, a student of Barisal Government Women's College, said, “I have to pay three times the usual fare to go to my college from Rupatoli due to the bad shape of the road.”

“During rainy season, filthy water accumulated in potholes and ditches splashes onto pedestrians' clothes when vehicles pass over them,” she added.

Uttom Kumar Paul, deputy commissioner (traffic) of Barisal Metropolitan Police, said, “I have to deploy additional traffic personnel on the road to ease the traffic situation as the road is very narrow and battered.”

KH Golam Mostafa, executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department, Barisal, said, “The road was repaired temporarily with brick chips around 15 days ago to ease the gridlock in the area.”

“Recently we have sent a proposal to the higher authorities to widen the road into four lanes. If we repair the road now, the proposal might not be accepted,” he added.