A constant calamity for commuters
A recent report published by this daily revealed that Sonadanga Bypass Road, the main way leading in and out of Khulna, is in a dilapidated state because the concerned authorities have paid no attention to the dire condition it faces. With hundreds of vehicles plying the road on a daily basis, the bypass must bear the onslaught of cars, buses and commuters, the combination of which far exceeds its capacity. And in the absence of a footpath, thousands of pedestrians risk their lives trying to make their way along the thoroughfare, contributing to the chaos.
Since its completion in 2013, no repair work has been done at all. Even the asphalt on the road has eroded overtime. To make matters worse, cluttered bricks and stones along with a myriad of potholes—full of mud during monsoon or dust otherwise—are now a trademark of Sonadanga Bypass Road, with occurrences of multiple minor accidents on a regular basis. Why then this indifference from the concerned authorities?
There is really no excuse for this total lack of maintenance work of a road that is so vital for safe, efficient movement of vehicles and people. The government should exert pressure on the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) to prioritise the maintenance of a road as crucial as the one in question. It is a matter of concern that there are many roads and bridges all over the country that are also in a bad condition, adding to the road crashes that are taking precious lives every day. Around 25 percent of the country's roads under the Road and Highways Department are in "poor, bad or very bad" shape, according to an RHD survey conducted on 17,452 km of roads last March. Clearly, the RHD is well aware of the situation and should repair these roads on an urgent basis.
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