2 knocked down, 8 of no use
Two U-loops were constructed a year and a half ago in Uttara area on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) to ease traffic congestion.
The construction cost was around Tk 7 crore.
However, these U-loops had to be dismantled last January. The reasons being -- ongoing construction work of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from airport to Gazipur, and failure to reduce traffic congestion.
Besides, the remaining eight U-loops constructed in Tejgaon, Mohakhali and Banani areas have also proven to be quite useless.
As a result, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of these constructed U-loops, as DNCC has spent Tk 30.84 crore to build 10 U-loops in the capital.
According to transport experts, all the money is going to be wastes as U-loops are not a proper solution to traffic congestion in a populated city like Dhaka.
They also said these initiatives were taken without assessment.
On the other hand, DNCC sources said they do not think the projects have failed, as some U-loops are working effectively. They also said they are planing to redesign the U-loops.
Three U-loops were inaugurated in December 2020 and the remaining seven in April 2021, and with that, road crossings (taking a right turn on both sides of the road) were closed. But they had to be opened again as the U-loops failed to fulfil their purpose.
These U-loops were constructed at Rajalakshmi intersection in Uttara, in front of Uttara Rab-1 office, Kaula flying club, Banani overpass, Banani army stadium, Banani Chairman Bari, Mohakhali Amtoli, in front of Mohakhali bus terminal, Tejgaon Nabisco junction and BG Press area at Satrasta intersection.
While visiting these areas, this correspondent witnessed gridlocks at Chairman Bari and Amtoli. Traffic congestion kept growing since no car coming from Mohakhali could take a right turn via Kakoli or Banani; they could not go towards Gulshan-2 either.
Similarly, no car could go towards Gulshan-1 via Amtoli intersection in Mohakhali.
Asked, transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque said U-loops are counterproductive during peak hours of Dhaka traffic.
He said such a project has been taken up due to a lack of accountability. "Pavements are wider than roads in developed countries. But a U-loop has been created by narrowing the pavement. This is an unforgivable crime as public money is being wasted," he added.
Contacted, DNCC Chief Executive Officer Silem Reza denied the claims.
"We are trying hard to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka. Building U-loops is one of the projects we took in this regard. We cannot call it a completely unsuccessful project. In some places, the project worked. We will redesign the U-loops very soon."
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