Why should it take years to repair roads?
While most government agencies remain focused on the problems of the big cities, we seldom see what is happening in rural areas. That explains the lack of interest of the authorities in repairing the approach roads of two bridges in Barkhapon union under Kalmakanda upazila of Netrokona. Flash floods damaged the roads—one got affected four years ago, and the other, one and a half years ago. The road from the bridges leads to Netrokona district headquarters through Thakurakona. Some 15,000 inhabitants of adjacent unions need to use the road, including some 400 students of various educational institutions, but the pleas of people affected by its poor condition have fallen on deaf ears.
Indeed, it is not just these approach roads that lie in disrepair. There are four bridges in Barkhapon and Ranagaon on the Barkhapon-Gutura road that are also suffering from neglect. The LGED officials tell us that only the Barkhapon Bridge is under its authority and the rest were constructed under different projects. We are further informed by the local officials that the administration is aware of the situation but is waiting for the final approval of a priority project under the local engineering department before they commence work on their restoration. While all that is going on, heavier vehicles can no longer ply on the bridges.
What this illustrates is the bureaucratic approach to connectivity projects which, once completed, often end up in a dilapidated state because there is no real pressure from any influential quarter to prioritise their upkeep. All the while, people living in the vicinity of these important bridges and roads continue to use them despite their vulnerable state. We can only hope that the local administration will expedite the file work to get them repaired for the benefit of the public.
Comments