Waste of money or lack of awareness?
Why do we need foot overbridges? The answer is simple. They are built to prevent accidents, on roads which are usually broad and difficult to cross.
But foot overbridges built on Sylhet were set up on narrow roads, where there is not even any divider to begin with. These roads never had a record of any accidents prior to these bridges, and the city dwellers are more comfortable crossing it without those, as it saves time, said locals.
Yet the Sylhet City Corporation has spent Tk 6.59 crore in the last seven years to build 3 such bridges, without consulting with the experts and city dwellers, they alleged.
On September 3, 2015, Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) inaugurated the city's first foot overbridge over the narrow yet busy Bandarbazar road at a cost of Tk 1.63 crore. But till this date, the overbridge remains unused.
The second one was constructed last year at Tilagarh, right at the entrance of the Sylhet-Tamabil highway, spending Tk 1.79 crore.
The foot overbridge at Humayun Rashid Chattar, at the entrance of the Sylhet-Dhaka National highway, was constructed this year spending Tk 2.75 crore.
Another foot overbridge is being constructed near the main gate of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Akhalia area, over Sylhet-Sunamganj highway, spending Tk 3.17 crore.
These foot overbridges are made of steel and were constructed by Chittagong Dry Dock Limited and Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited in Narayanganj.
Advocate Monir Helal, a member of Sachetan Nagorik Committee (Sanak) Sylhet chapter, said, "Such projects are nothing but an eyewash, undertaken to convince citizens that notable development works are progressing."
"But in reality, the city corporation is wasting money, officials are getting benefited, and these overbridges are becoming a burden to the city."
When the first foot overbridge was being constructed, businessmen of Madhuban Market and Hasan Market opposed it as this structure would narrow the access to the road.
"After all these years, the bridge turned out to be useless. The point (Bandarbazar) is always in gridlock due to illegal stands of CNG-auto rickshaws. Besides, the overbridge also occupied a lot of space, further narrowing the road," said a businessman of Madhuban Market, seeking anonymity.
While visiting the sites, his correspondent witnessed people crossing the roads without using the foot overbridges.
Only a handful of people looking for "private space" to smoke and click a few pictures were seen strolling on the bridges.
Md Rafiqul Islam, a pedestrian at Bandarbazar, said, "What is the point of using the overbridge when I can cross the narrow road in a few seconds? Besides, there's always gridlock as this structure has further narrowed down the road."
Contacted, Bidhayak Roy Choudhury, chief executive officer of SCC, said, "Foot overbridges in busy roads are important for the safety of pedestrians. But they lack awareness, and we cannot force people to use the overbridges."
"With limited resources, we are unable to build mass awareness. If citizen organizations come forward, we will be happy to help in such awareness campaigns," he said.
Mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
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