Voters want development of roads

Voters in Gazipur city, especially the new and young ones, are prioritising development works, mainly repairs to the roads, for choosing their mayor in the upcoming city corporation election.

The election is scheduled to be held on June 26.

For the new voters, concrete roads in the city, street lights, safety on roads for women, improved drainage system, and household gas connections are paramount now.

Nargis Akter, 21, a homemaker of Gazariapara under ward-22 became a voter this year. She said, “Every single vote is important. Therefore, the responsibility of choosing the right mayor for Gazipur city becomes even more crucial for me.”

Nargis said she would cast her vote only after reading the manifestos thoroughly and checking the backgrounds of the candidates.

The candidate who will promise to improve the road communications in the city will get priority in her list, she added.

The sand-clay road, stretching six kilometres from Gaziapara to Banglabazar, remains muddy even in the dry season. It becomes unusable during rainy season, she added.

Another voter, Mostafa Kamal Palowan, 30, said he resides in Polanpara under ward-23. But, there is no direct connection between the main road [of Gazipur city] to his house, which is some one kilometre away. He has to walk through alleys and other roads to reach his house.

Md Moniruzzaman, an electronic appliance seller in ward-54, said the road in Surtaranga, stretching two kilometres towards Sataish, an industrial area, has become completely muddy as bitumen got removed from different places due to a lack of maintenance and repair.

The road, also connecting the ward with Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, has been in a sorry state for almost three years, he said.

Another such remote area is Darbar Sharif in Uttar Arichpur under ward-56, said bus driver Shabuddin, 29.

The one-and-a-half-kilometre road from Darbar Sharif area to Kazi Bazar has been ridden with potholes and craters for the last five years. There has been no development works, said the bus driver, adding that Kazi Bazar is a densely populated area.

Nazmul Alam, a 45-year-old singer and music tutor in Dhirasram under ward-48, said the road from Chandna intersection to Tongi Bazar, which is almost 14 kilometres, often remains gridlocked with heavy traffic.

Illegal occupation of footpath, unplanned roadside repair works and poor drainage system are among the main reasons that are creating traffic congestion on that vital road, he added.

Therefore, people are using an alternative route, stretching from Bonmala area to Haidrabad area. The road is also in dire need of repair, he added.

A new voter Asma Akter, 21, daughter of Jahangir Alam of the same area, and a college student, said her ideal candidate would be the one who will ensure road safety for women, gender equality as well as women empowerment.

There are many stalkers who regularly wait beside the roads and harass women especially students. Many of them are even drug addicts, Asma added.

“Therefore, I want a mayor who is bold and can strongly handle all this,” Asma added.

Sushanta Barman, 21, a second-year honours student of the botany department of Bhawal Badre Alam Govt College, said he would vote for the candidate who is financially solvent and can maintain good communication with the youth.

Political leaders who are already solvent tend to get involved in less corruption, Sushanta said. Md Roman, 23, son of Md Abul Hossain, who runs a confectionary shop in Gozariapara Khalil Market area, said he wants to vote for the mayoral candidate who has good connections with the high-ups, so that he would be able to manage more funds for development of Gazipur city.

Among the seven mayoral aspirants of Gazipur City Corporation polls, scheduled for June 26, the main battle is likely to be between ruling Awami League's Jahangir Alam and BNP's Hasan Uddin Sarker.

Both the candidates have road development as their principal electoral manifesto.

The AL and BNP mayoral candidates in Gazipur have already started their election campaigning.

Now, the voters are contemplating who seems more reliable in terms of keeping promises.

An estimated 11.37 lakh voters are likely to cast their votes to choose the mayor.