Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) routinely excavate roads just as the monsoon sets in, say city dwellers.
People in Dhaka are complaining that the state-run organisations take up their excavation projects in the same area of the capital almost every year, without any plan or integration.
Such road digging, particularly during the rainy season, leads to suffering for pedestrians and vehicles, and contributes to tailbacks across the city.
The DWASA recently dug up a road from Rayerbazar to Mohammadpur bus stand and another in Shahjahanpur to lay a sewer.
Meanwhile, the DPDC has excavated another road in the same area, from Mohammadpur Super Market to Shyamoli Ring Road, to install underground cables.
Anwar Hossain, a resident of Rahim Bepari Ghat of Mohammadpur, said: “Digging roads during monsoon is a common practice in Bangladesh.”
He said DWASA started its work in Mohammadpur about a month ago. “I don’t understand why the government agencies dig roads just when the rainy season starts,” he said.
Rezia Begum, a resident of the same area, said: “We have been suffering on rainy days because of this excavation. After rain, the road is submerged and our suffering reaches its peak.”
“Sometimes, pedestrians slip and fall in potholes. A few days ago, on a rainy day, a private car got stuck in a large hole that is a part of the DWASA excavations,” she said.
Md Rahit, another resident of Mohammadpur said: “The DPDC has tunnelled into the middle of the road from Mohammadpur Supermarket to the ring road to install electricity lines, contributing to narrowness.”
“Buses, trucks and CNGs all ply the narrow road, and sometimes, pedestrians do not find any space left,” he said.
“In the rainy season, it is difficult to move on the muddy roads, with the constant fear of falling into potholes,” he said.
However, DWASA Managing Director Taksim A Khan denied that DWASA digs roads during the monsoon.
He told the Dhaka Tribune that the complaints are incorrect.
“We take up road development project several times a year and try to avoid the monsoon,” he claimed.
Every year, the deadline to finish development work is May 31, starting from November-December. “Before the deadline we stop all sorts of excavations and this year we will also finish our work before May 31,” he said.
DPDC Managing Director Brigadier General Md Nazrul Hasan (rtd), similarly refuted the claims.
“Excepting in the rainy season, we continue development works throughout the year,” he said.
The electricity distribution company chief said sometimes it becomes necessary to renovate roads, even during the monsoon months. Sometimes the inconvenience caused is unavoidable.