Road turns landing station!

Barisal-Khulna highway in Jhalakathi municipality area has become very risky for commuters as the road is used as landing station for both loading and unloading.

Jhalakathi is one of the most important business hubs in the country. Dozens of goods-laden trucks come here every day, said businessmen of the town. 

Mojibur, a truck driver from Khulna, said they have to load and unload goods on the highway amid risk of accidents due to lack of landing station.

For loading and unloading goods, they have to block half of the road and it is very dangerous for them as any vehicle may hit their trucks standing on the highway, he said, adding that the situation worsened further at night.

On top of it, they have to keep the trucks in the area as there is no truck terminal in the town, said Mojibur.

In October last year, the municipality authority banned entry of all kinds of goods-laden trucks in the town for the betterment of roads and townspeople as well, said Abu Hanif, executive engineer of the municipality. 

After the ban, the trucks are kept standing on the highway in College More and Petrol Pump More areas for loading and unloading goods at a market there, said local businessmen.

Goods-laden trucks can enter all municipalities across the country except Jhalakathi. They have been suffering a lot due to the ban. Above all, some important roads in the town are under construction, said Md Mahabub Hossain, president of Jhalakathi Chamber and Commerce.

They have already fixed a place for truck terminal near Gurudham Bridge in the town and construction work of the terminal will be started soon, said the engineer.