Risky way to Burimari Land Port

Transport workers are afraid of driving their vehicles on the 3-km road in Burimari Land Port area under Patgram upazila as it has become very risky and the possibility of accidents occurring is very high.

The road was damaged as heavily loaded trucks use it to go to and from the land port, and it has become almost unusable in the last six months.

Due to the bad condition of the road, drivers cannot run their vehicles smoothly, creating traffic jams, but no step has been taken to repair it.

Every day, two to three loaded trucks break down on the road, said truck driver Nabir Ali of the land port. “We are afraid of accidents while driving our trucks on the road,” he added.

“The road becomes riskier for driving vehicles after slight rainfall and it takes at least one hour to cross it with our loaded vehicles,” said driver Shamsul Islam.

Ranjit Kumar Das, a truck driver from India who came to deliver imported stones, told this correspondent that it is unfortunate that the road is damaged as the land port is an important zone for business from where the government earns revenue every day.

Sahebul Islam Prodhan of Burimari Bazar said the damaged road also worries locals as they cannot travel safely on it. “We always face traffic jam, so it takes a very long time to reach our destinations,” he said, adding that they have been demanding repair of the road, but to no avail.

Shamim Ahmed Khan, a trader at Burimari Land Port, said the damaged road is bad for their businesses as they have to pay much more as truck fare. “We have been asking the land port authorities to take steps to repair the damaged road, but without any result, although they earn a large amount of revenue from us every day,” he said.

Bangladesh Land Port Authority Deputy Director of Burimari Land Port Maminul Islam told this correspondent that revenue earning from the land port always exceeds the target. “I also suffer due to the damaged road,” he said. “I have talked to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) authorities several times, and RHD officials visited the area, but no steps have been taken yet,” he added.

RHD Executive Engineer in Lalmonirhat Ali Noorayen told this correspondent that the road will be turned into a four-lane one. “If the four-lane road construction work is delayed, we will repair the damaged road immediately,” he said.