The dilapidated conditions of most of the alleyways, as well as few of the major roads, in the capital’s Mirpur area have turned commuting into a nightmarish experience for the local residents.
No re-carpeting or major repair work has been carried out on these roads in a long time, allegedly because of negligence and lack of sincerity on the part of the authorities concerned of the city corporation (now Dhaka North City Corporation).
The DNCC authorities admitted of failing to properly respond to the urgency of road repairs, with two separate repair projects – the first scheduled to begin in October and the second in December – still waiting to be launched.
Apart from the severely potholed condition of the roads, the Mirpur residents also suffer from the growing traffic that has made the roads congested, while indiscriminate parking of vehicles on both sides of the roads has added to the woes.
“The conditions of most internal roads all over the Mirpur area are pathetic. Bad roads make it difficult to drive on certain stretches. So every vehicle driver use only the main road to avoid the bumpy journeys on bad roads, resulting in unbearable traffic jam on the main road from section-10 to 12,” said Kamal Miah, a tea stall owner of section-12.
“The city corporation had last repaired most of the internal roads four or five years ago; now it is unsuitable for use” he added.
Kalim Uddin, a rickshaw-driver of section-10, said the busiest road between section-10 and 14 has been under repair for a long
“Because of the delay in construction, not only the residents of Mirpur but also commuters of different areas in the capital do not dare to use the road,” he said.
Mahmudul Hasan, a resident of Senpara of section-10, claimed that many roads in the area were in bad shape.
“Repairing of the internal main road in Senpara started a long time ago, and the development is now stopped because of the negligence of the authority concerned,” he said.
During a recent visit to Mirpur, the correspondent found most roads in every section to be in dilapidated conditions.
According to the correspondent’s observation and the locals’ opinions, the city corporation need to take steps to repair the roads 7 and 8 of block-A, road 4 of block-B in section-12, road 7 in section-7, and all the roads in Pallabi except its internal main road.
Moreover, roads 5, 6, 8 of block-A and roads 6, 7 of block-D in section-11 needed immediate repairs, while renovation was also needed for Paris Road, Benaroshi Palli road and adjoining roads of Bihari Palli in section-10 and 11.
In section-2, Barobagh road was found to be in a bad shape, and the construction of Mirpur-Agargaon link road was moving at snail’s pace.
In section-1, roads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of section-F, roads 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 including roads in Ahmednagar were in dilapidated condition.
When contacted, Brig Gen Md Abul Khair, chief engineer of the DNCC, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have taken a project to repair and develop roads in the Mirpur area,” but admitted to delays in initiation of the project.
The project became hard to realise as construction workers were unwilling to work during the blockade and hartal, he added.
Brig Gen Khair said the Mirpur residents were suffering because of the hazardous condition of the roads, adding that there had been trouble in accumulating construction materials and other necessary things, resulting in the delay of implementing the project.
