It is the same old story. Road repairs always occur right before Eid, and commuters, especially those on their way home to celebrate with their families, end up as victims.
Like all previous years, repairs to the dilapidated roads and highways across the country have started to compound the misery of city dwellers, as during the month of Ramadan tailbacks take a toll on fasting commuters.
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader too is his bizarre self, roaring and threatening the officials concerned with dire consequence if the roads are not repaired by July 20.
Despite the minister’s frequent visits to the sites where repair work is on, commuters expressed their frustrations to media over the shabby conditions of the roads across the country.
A Dhaka-Chittagong highway commuter said: “I really can’t express how bad the roads are.”
“Why are the roads repaired just before the Eid?” he asked, with no ready answer in sight.
People travel round the year, but the authorities concerned become serious about the repair works just ahead of Eid.
And that too is merely cosmetic; repairs put on the surface of the roads by using some brick and stone chips come off after a few days.
Such kind of shoddy work opens up an opportunity for those linked to the upper echelon of the government to pocket a large amount of money in the name road repairs, a commuter alleged.
Roads Division Secretary MAN Siddique however said over phone: “We take extra care during Eid to alleviate sufferings of the people. Maintenance is a routine work.”
But he acknowledged the fact that repairs to roads during the rainy season aggravate the situation.
A senior official of the communications ministry who accompanied the minister in his visit to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway yesterday said many roads still have potholes and are uneven making it difficult for heavy vehicles to ply.
The official, however, claimed they would be fine within a few days.
The sorry state of the highways causes untold sufferings for the home-bound journey of people to their village homes to celebrate Eid.
Around 41% of the highways across the country are in a sorry state. Of them 12% are severely battered, says a recent survey of the HRD.
Roads in Satkania, Patiya, Hathhazari upazila in Chittagong and also the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway’s Sitakunda-Mirorai stretch have turned risky for vehicular movement as numerous potholes have recently appeared after rains.
While visiting Sitakunda in Chittagong Obaidul Quader yesterday warned the officials that they must complete the repair work within the deadline.
“No excuse will be entertained unless the roads are fixed. Action will be taken for negligence,” he warned.
Earlier, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Saturday directed the concerned officials of the ministry, HRD and also the contractors to repair all tumble-down roads and the highways by the 20th of this month. The minister has also visited different parts of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
His ministry’s secretary MAN Siddique and other additional and joint secretaries along with other concerned officials have also visited Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Tangail and other highways.
A total of 16 teams are working to oversee the road repair works.
After the visits the officials told the ministry that they had marked around 20 spots on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, about 14 spots on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and about 12 spots on the Dhaka-Tangail highway that are in bad shape.
On Thursday, transport leaders in Chittagong threatened not to run their vehicles ahead of Eid if the roads are not fixed by the second week of this month.
The leaders issued a 72-hour ultimatum at a meeting with Chittagong Superintendent of Police AKM Hafiz Akhter.
HRD officials further said the makeshift shops along the highways would be evicted and necessary steps be taken to stop the movement of Nasimon, Karimon, Bhotbhoti on the highways to ensure smooth vehicular movement.
The construction works of the overpasses in Comilla, Feni and Chittagong will remain suspended for three days during the holidays to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.