Sorry state of a road in Mirpur

The sorry state of Purabi-Kalshi Road in Mirpur. Hardly any regular maintenance work is done on the road. Photo: Sk Enamul Haq

The pothole ridden Purabi-Kalshi road in Mirpur is in an extremely poor shape, causing immense suffering to the commuters and forcing them to use the alternative roads in many cases.

Due to heavy traffic pressure and reluctance by the authorities concerned for road renovation, the condition of the 1.4 km road is deteriorating every day, locals have alleged.

To add to the woes of the commuters, the construction work of a culvert near Sangbadik Colony has shrunk the road to such an extent that only one vehicle can pass the point at a time, triggering a total chaos in traffic movement.

A five-minute ride on this road that connects with the the Mirpur-Airport Road Flyover can take up to half an hour.

The situation turns worse after rains, as the road then goes under knee-deep water, thanks to the poor drainage system there. 

The road connects to the 1.8-kilometre flyover, which extends from Matikata to Airport Road at Zia Colony, easing up the traffic movement between Mirpur, Shahjalal International Airport, Uttara, Banani, Gulshan and Mohakhali areas.

But reaching the flyover through the battered Purabi-Kalshi road is not that easy for the travellers.

Many drivers of private cars told this correspondent in many cases they try to avoid the dilapidated 1.4 km road and use the alternative roads to reach the flyover.

Approximately, only 500 private cars and buses ply the road a day. The number of vehicles was supposed to be its double, said officials of the Dhaka North City Corporation.

People are using adjacent alternative routes due to the terrible traffic gridlock and innumerable potholes on the Purabi-Kalshi road, according to locals.

“It's very difficult to sit in the back seats of the bus on the bumpy road,” said Mahmuda Akhtar, a first year student of BCIC College in Mirpur-1, adding she often feels unwell after taking a ride on the road.

The under-construction 90-feet-long culvert, which replaced a 40-feet one, is part of a project to expand the 60-feet-wide road to 120 feet to ease traffic.

But the authorities responsible for implementing the project have not taken any alternative measure so that at least two vehicles could pass through the point from both directions.

Project Director Lt Colonel Saiful Islam said they had completed only 50 percent of the work towards construction of the culvert, footpaths and drains in the area.

The work will be completed by the first week of December, he said, adding the rains and heavy pressure of traffic on the road were delaying the work.

Earlier, he had told The Daily Star that the project would end by June. He, however, had later justified the delay, saying that there had been significant changes in the components of the project.