A good number of roads in Barisal city were badly damaged in the recent downpour, with city corporation officials now saying that they need at least Tk80 crore to repair those.
The Met Office in Barisal said 1484.2mm rainfall had been recorded in 48 days in June and July.
The amount of rainfall was 826.7mm in 28 days in July, the highest for the month in the last nine years.
In 20 days in June, the Met Office said 657.5mm rainfall was recorded.
“The road network in Barisal City Corporation (BCC) measures 593 kilometres, with 267 kilometres paved with bituminous coal,” said BCC Superintendent Engineer Abdul Motaleb.
He said torrential rains damaged 45% of the total road network.
“The city corporation spent Tk330 crore for construction, re-construction, extension and maintenance of the roads. 312 kilometres of roads were repaired in the last seven years,” added Motaleb.
Potholes and cracks appeared on many roads, impeding smooth traffic movement that increased the woes of passengers and also heightened the risk of accidents.
Dr Mizanur Rahman, member secretary of Barisal Nagorik Samaj, said BCC officials had always demanded money for their work but never monitored whether the fund allotted had been used properly.
“It is unbelievable that city roads cannot withstand downpour or flood even though Tk330 crore has been spent in a decade,” he said. BCC Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal blamed excessive rain for the damage done to different roads.
“The city corporation has to pay Tk143.18 crore in arrears, including honorarium and salaries of councillors and employees. The amount is overdue since the tenure of former mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron.
“That is why we can start the work on repairing the damaged roads if we get a fund of a minimum of Tk80 crore,” added the mayor.
Mortuza Abedin, BCC councillor of Ward 2, claimed both the previous mayor and the incumbent one carried out development projects of city roads at a cost of Tk80 crore in the recent years.
“But they awarded contracts to parties they had close relations with. In other words, they cared about nepotism more than the quality of work.
“We raised objections several times but neither of the mayors took any step,” he alleged. But Mayor Kamal denied the allegation, saying that every project during his tenure was implemented in line with the necessary standards.
