No major repair in decade

Vehicles try to avoid potholes of the muddy Arambagh-Bijoy Nagar Road in the city. The deep potholes have cause several accidents.Photo: STAR

The condition of the road stretching from Bijoynagar water tank to Arambagh has to be seen to be believed.
The bumpy road is full of potholes, which make it especially when it rains -- a host for potential accidents.
The box culvert road was constructed in the early 1990s over a culvert in the area. It never saw any major repairs since then.
Bad weather and traffic both contributed to the deterioration of the road, turning it from bad to worse, and from worse to indescribable.
Azad, a resident of Segunbaghicha, who often commutes through this road on way to work, says that he often gets down from the rickshaw through this stretch of his way, especially after heavy showers.
“It is risky to ride through as one can't make out the depth of the potholes and a disaster could happen at any moment,” he said.
Only two days ago while travelling through this road, Azad averted injury by jumping off the rickshaw as its wheel got stuck in a large hole on the road.
Amir Hossain, a rickshaw puller of the area, said it takes more than double the usual energy needed to pull rickshaw through this road even in dry weather. During the rains, the situation only gets tougher.
"I have seen many rickshaws trip when their wheels get stuck in the ditches, especially after a heavy shower," he says.
Residents of the area, who endure these troubles day in and day out, blame the authorities for negligence in repairing the dilapidated road at Puranapaltan ward-36.
Nuru Mia, a 40-year-old resident of the area, said he does not remember any repairs of the road since its construction in the 1990s. To add to the residents' trouble, the street lamps on this stretch don't work.
Chief Engineer of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) Md Shah Alam said Rajuk got the job of extending and repairing the road in 2006 under a project but
could not be completed due to lack of funds.
Khandokar Abdur Rob, commissioner of ward-36, said he could not do any work on the road as the road has been under Rajuk authority since its construction. The road was brought under the DCC authority only three months ago and initiatives have now been taken to repair the road.
The street lamps will also be repaired, he said.
DCC's Zone-4 Executive Engineer Kazi Md Borhan Uddin said evaluation of tenders to repair the road is going on at present, and the work order will be issued very soon.
Alongside the repair works, the box culvert road, which is 30 feet wide at present, will be expanded to 60 feet, he said.
The work will be started by the end of September and will continue till December, Borhan Uddin added.