Dholaikhal spikes come into action

Installing retractable device in the form of metal spikes in a part of the city, with many more to come, should have been introduced long ago but as they say it's 'better late than never.' It, however, escapes our understanding why Hare Road was chosen as an experimental route when there were so many other roads where driving on the wrong side was more frequent?
We who move on the streets of Dhaka almost every day gather firsthand experience on how the different types of vehicles pass through the wrong side of the roads. For private cars, buses and trucks, the metal spikes will be an obstacle for illegal shortcuts. The propensity for taking the shortcut through the wrong way may be reduced, but in the case of two and three wheelers—bicycles, motorbikes and rickshaws—the spikes may not be as effective as for the four wheelers. Physically lifting a heavy vehicle may not be possible, but two-wheelers and rickshaws can be lifted. In most cases the biker or the cyclist simply lifts up his/her bike partially or entirely and then keeps moving against the traffic flow, and this was witnessed at Hare Road yesterday. These motorbikes and cycles speed up along the wrong and narrow roadsides and also footpaths, making it become extremely difficult and unsafe for other commuters to move. Nevertheless, we also expect that the spikes will help to reduce the traffic congestion due to movement on the wrong side and also prevent accidents. At the same time a similar device should be set up to deter the two-wheelers from taking the wrong way too. Also, now that we are thinking of installing metal spikes we should also think of how to maintain and ensure their effectuality.
We were happy to see that the device, costing around Tk.5 lakhs, was built by a local metal engineering company located at the capital's Dholaikhal, a place renowned for duplication and creepy inventions. What concerns us is that there could be another device or method in the pipeline for deactivating the proper functions of the metal spikes. We know by now what 'incredible capabilities' the shops at Dholaikhal possess, so let's make sure it doesn't happen. Finally, we don't want a controversy to spring out from the metal spikes device's usability, commercial venture, or large scale production. So before we think of using them on a larger scale a thorough study needs to be done.

The writer is Current Affairs Analyst, The Daily Star.