Barisal townspeople are suffering everyday as road digging is going on in many areas for installation of water supply lines.
Digging up of roads in the rainy season worsens city’s traffic congestion and makes movement of commuters difficult, said city residents.
Ambulance carrying patients and fire brigade vehicles even cannot move quickly due to grid locks caused by the excavation.
Barisal City Corporation and Public Health Engineering Department are setting up two water treatment plants in Ruptoli and Amanatganj areas of the city with a view to supplying drinking water to city dwellers by treating the water of the Kirtankhola River.
Currently, authorities are installing water supply pipelines in Kawnia Amanatganj, Alekanda, Rupatoli, Sagordi, Gorachand Das road, and Hospital road areas.
City residents said although authorities had completed installation of water supply pipelines in several areas, but they did not repair roads yet putting people at risks.
Brick chips are still piled up on roads in many areas which make roads narrow and obviously causes traffic congestion.
Mahhud Alam, a resident of Sagordi area, said: “Heaps of mud, bricks and brick chips, sand and pipes have narrowed roads in many areas, resulting traffic jams and situation has turned worse after recent downpour.”
“Rundown condition of roads causes traffic congestion as pressure of vehicles on main roads has increased remarkably during the month of Ramadan.”
He said sometimes he could not go home from workplace before Iftar due to severe traffic jam.
Hasina Begum, a resident of Alekanda area, said: “After rain, the road is submerged and our suffering reaches its peak because of this excavation.”
“We suffer in rainy days because of this excavation. Sometimes pedestrians slip and fall into potholes,” said Rahima Begum, who lives in Kawnia area of the city.
In the rainy season, it is difficult to move on the muddy roads, with the constant fear of falling into potholes, she added.
Ahsan Habib Kamal, mayor of the BCC, said the city corporation was compelled to dig roads in the rainy season because of different reasons.
He also expressed hope that townspeople would get rid from the suffering soon. He said the city corporation along with the Public Health Engineering Department would take measures to fix dug portions of roads.
Ranjit Kumar, chief executive officer of BCC, said the June-July financial year was a barrier to completing the task in time. If the corporation and service providers count the financial year from January to December, it would be easier to finish the task before the rainy season.
Dr Mizanur Rahman, member-secretary of Barisal Nagorik Samaj, said digging roads during the monsoon had become a common phenomenon. City authority should choose alternative time to dig road to ease sufferings of city people.
