A year ago, we learnt of the opening of the underpass on Airport Road where, in July 2018, two students, Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, were killed as a result of two buses racing to pick up passengers.
As a result of this tragedy and the significant public outcry that followed, we were told that many things would be put right. Yet, things have got worse, not better.
I do not have a car and walk all over Gulshan and Banani but it is not at all safe to walk. Even when the cars stop because of a red light and/or a traffic police signal, it is not safe to walk across the road because motorbikes are allowed to ignore the “stop” signal and drive on both sides of the road, and in the wrong direction as well.
As a pedestrian, I have to take a chance to cross the road safely and I really need eyes in the back of my head to stay safe. The increasing number of motorbikes seem to own the roads and road junctions and they drive on the pavements as well.
In addition, there are thousands of unfit buses and trucks on the roads of the whole country and very little has been done about it in the last four years.
I would call this a “criminal and corrupt delay.” It is common knowledge that if you want to renew your vehicle's road tax and “fitness” certificate you do not need to take your vehicle to the BRTA.
You just pay a “middleman” to do the needful and you receive all the correct documents without having to move your vehicle from its parking place in your apartment or factory. A number of people involved, from top to bottom, receive the “speed money.”
Having lived for the last 25 years in Banani, I am accustomed to observing how the police operate at the Gulshan-2 crossing. Sometimes there are up to 12 policemen in different locations at the crossroads but when I have asked them why they have not disciplined this or that vehicle, they inform me that they are not on traffic duty but on security duty and that they cannot intervene in anything to do with drivers breaking the traffic rules.
This is quite unbelievable. At the same time, the traffic police are sometimes so busy on their mobile phones or intercoms that they cannot pay attention to the traffic. It is the traffic police who should be educating or disciplining the drivers and pedestrians about road safety and the traffic rules.
However, sometimes, it must be admitted, drivers cannot see the traffic lights because posters have been hung which block the drivers' line of sight of the traffic lights.
Once, when I suggested to the police on duty to remove the poster that was blocking the sight of the traffic light, I was told that as the poster had the photo of the Father of the Nation and the current prime minister, it could not be removed without permission from a higher official.
That is such a ridiculous comment when lives are at stake. When will the traffic police wake up and take responsibility?
And while on the safety of pedestrians and the failure of authorities, it is important to refer to the walkways that were constructed a few years ago on the sides of the lakes.
The walkways on the sides of the lake between Banani and Gulshan were made so that pedestrians could walk safely, avoiding busy roads like Road 27 in Banani, the pavements of which are often, illegally, blocked by construction materials such as steel rods, bricks, and sand.
Now, parts of the walkway on the Banani side are blocked by cars parking, a rickshaw park, and a building materials depot.
The cars are parked because the Dhaka North Municipal Corporation and, possibly, Rajuk, have illegally allowed residential roads to accommodate commercial offices and godowns. One such is Road 22, Block-K, Banani which has a number of commercial establishments, including a hospital.
A hospital with no car park on a narrow road which is a dead end road? It is difficult to believe! And what has the Banani Society done about this situation? Nothing at all, it seems!
The current Dhaka North mayor has repeatedly said he was going to “free” the pavements and walkways for pedestrians. Why does he and his officers not walk around and see how often the pavements have become motorbike parking places?
It should also be noted that in some places, unhealthy snack shops and tea stalls block the pavement. In that situation, the pedestrian has to step into the road and check if a speeding motorbike is not going to knock her or him over.
It would seem that no municipality or government department is responsible for the maintenance of the walkways around the lake or the pavements, and for keeping them clean. Part of the walkway on the Banani side of the lake has been covered by broken masonry, and in other parts waste water from adjoining apartment buildings is leaking onto the walkway, making it unhygienic.
In addition, it is a place where people throw away face masks, paper cups, tissues etc. Is there not a public health authority which should be looking at all aspects of public health including public areas like footpaths, tea stalls, and snack shops?
Is it possible to hope that anyone will wake up and come to their senses? Can the relevant authorities and the public not start 2023 by fixing this most pressing of issues?
Julian Francis has been associated with relief and development activities of Bangladesh since the War of Liberation. In 2012, the Government of Bangladesh awarded him the ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour' in recognition of his work among the refugees in India in 1971 and in 2018 honoured him with full Bangladesh citizenship.