Road accidents on rise in Jhenidah

Accidents have increased on Jessore-Jhenidah road to a great extent since February this year due to heavy rush of traffic. 

The plying of vehicles has increased three times on the road as Magura-Jessore highway is lying out of order for about five months after the Bailey bridge over the Chitra river in Magura's Shalikha upazila collapsed. 

A number of potholes have developed on the road due to heavy rush of transports.  Consequently accidents are occurring freq       uently. 

Driver Shamsul Islam of a passenger bus said now it takes one and half hours to reach Jhenidah from Jessore due to heavy rush of transports on the road while 35 minutes were need earlier for the same journey.

An elderly man, Ezer Ali, 65 of Enayetpur village in Kaliganj upazila said he received injuries while going to Barobazaar market by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on Saturday afternoon as a Dhaka-bound passenger bus hit the auto-rickshaw.

Ferozul Haque, organising secretary of Khulna Motor-Bus Owners' Association, said about five months into the collapse of the bridge, the authorities are yet to take any steps to repair it.

As the pressure of vehicular movement on Jhenidah-Jessore has increased three times, road mishaps have increased alarmingly, he said.

Vehicles from Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerthat, Narail and Jessore are plying on Jhenidah-Jessore road. Besides, goods-laden trucks go to Benapole port and Nowapara commercial market. As a result, road accidents have increased, he said, adding that over 50 road mishaps have occurred on Jhenidah-Jessore road in over four months.

Magura Roads and Highway Executive Engineer Nurun Nabi Tarafdar said “We are making two Bailey bridges. Of them, one has been completed while the other is under construction. The work is being delayed due to bad weather.”

He expects that they will be able to open the bridge by July.