Battered road makes life miserable

For the last five months, Arabiya Afifa, a preschool student in Gandaria, has to walk for around 40 minutes on Dinanath Sen Road every day to go to and return from her institution.

Often times, the little girl struggles to walk such a long distance holding her schoolbag, but she has no other option as her grandmother, who accompanies her, has to carry Afifa’s younger sister in her arms while walking.

Though a rickshaw ride would have been more suitable for Afifa and her grandmother, that option is also not viable as Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has been setting up storm-water drainage line on the road.

The work, stretching from Gandaria school crossing to Dhupkhola old bus stop, was completed around four months back, but the authorities concerned did not re-carpet the road after digging it, said locals.

As a result, commuting on the road has become a nightmare for hundreds of residents, they added. Locals said the authorities used brick chips twice to temporarily make the road usable but to no avail.

“I get tired of walking for such a long time,” Afifa told this correspondent yesterday. “But grandma cannot get a rickshaw. They don’t want to go our way because of the road’s condition,” she added.

This correspondent met her while she and her grandmother, carrying her younger sister, were returning home. They looked exhausted.

The road’s condition becomes worse when it rains. Rickshaws often hit potholes and trip over.

Mohammad Sejan Uddin, a tenth grader of Gandaria High School, said, “Rickshaws mostly skip the road. Even if a puller agrees to ply it, he charges double.”

Sejan said he mostly walks to his school with his friends. His classmate Mohammad Tanveer also expressed his frustration.

Business establishments on the road are facing losses too.

Delowar Hossain, owner of a grocery shop, said their earnings went down drastically since the work started. “The authorities are not only taking time to complete the work, they are also using sub-standard materials,” he alleged.

Mohammad Javed, owner of a barber shop, said, “We hope they [authorities] will finish the work soon as we are incurring losses.”

There is also a health centre on the road, and its patients are the worst sufferers, said locals. Around 10 days back, a rickshaw carrying a man and his sick child, while going there, fell into a pothole and tripped over, they added.

Contacted, Mithun Chandra Shil, executive engineer of DSCC (zone-5), said the works have been going on under a Tk 4 crore project on Distillery road and adjoining areas. It is scheduled to be completed by June next year.

About the condition of Dinanath Sen Road, he said they will take immediate steps to repair it.

Asked about the reason behind starting the work during rainy season, the executive engineer said they began working right after getting the work order.

Regarding allegations of using sub-standard materials, Superintendent Engineer Kazi Mohammad Borhan Uddin said he will look into the matter.