Roads in and around the capital’s Moghbazar-Mouchak area have become nightmare for vehicles as authorities concerned and entities responsible for constructing a flyover there are yet to repair the dilapidated thoroughfares.
As the construction of the integrated Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover now faces further delay due to the unplanned installation of underground utility lines in the area, the procrastination in the project has been adding to the woes of locals who commute regularly through the area.
Since the beginning of the construction, roads along the project site had formed deep potholes and turns muddy even after a little rainfall. Vehicles, including padded rickshaws, repeatedly get stuck or topples in these potholes, causing accidents and injuring commuters and pedestrians.
After a long wait for a government intervention into the problem, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said that directions have been given to authorities concerned to repair the dilapidated roads within 10 days.
“I would like to ask for a 10-day time period from city dwellers to repair the roads. I have already directed the authorities concerned of the under construction Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover to repair the roads for minimum usablility of vehicles by the time,” he told the media after a visit of the dilapidated from Moghbazar Rainbow crossing to Moghbazar intersection.
He also directed the authorities concerned to clear wastes dumped on both sides of the roads within the deadline.
“If the authority is unable to meet the deadline, I will go to the prime minister with a complain against the flyover authorities,” he added.
During the minister’s visit, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benozir Ahmed and the flyover’s Project Director Nazmul Alam, among others, were also present.
Meanwhile, commuters face unbearable misery while travelling through roads connecting Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Shantinagar Eskaton, Dilu Road, Siddeswari, FDC intersection, Shatrasta and Rampura due to its condition.
As vehicles are forced to move slowly along these roads to avoid an accident, it takes hours for a commuter just to get out of the area.
Locals, commuters and pedestrians blamed the contractors responsible for building the flyover for the poor state of the thoroughfares alleging that they never took any steps to repair or fill the potholes or clear a portion of the Mouchak-Moghbazar road for traffic flow.
“Due to these potholes, vehicles cannot move easily. Paddled rickshaw and CNG-run auto rickshaw get stuck up in potholes and also topple over on the road when rain water clogs the roads. For this reason, commuters sometimes get seriously injured,” said Zahirul Alam, resident of Moghbazar, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.
“Not only rickshaws, but buses also lose their balance and topple over on the road,” he added.
Tahmida Akhter, resident of Mouchak, said: “Commuters have to wait for hours to find a bus here due to the traffic jam caused by these dilapidated roads, which has become a daily hassle for the residents in this area.
“The contractors have put construction materials on the road, making the road even narrower.” she added.
During a recent visit to the area, this Dhaka Tribune correspondent also found that the road from Malibagh intersection towards Moghbazar had been damaged greatly and half of the road had submerged in rainwater, making it impossible for commuters and vehicles to locate and avoid deep potholes there.
The Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover project is being implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) and Cooperatives. The estimated cost of the four-lane flyover is around Tk 7.73 billion.
The Danish and Bangladesh joint venture firms M/S Simplex-Navana JV and Bangladesh-India joint venture firm, MCCC-4 ACL-ODC, will complete the construction of the flyover, and MCCC (No. 4)-SEL-UDC JV. Toma Constructions carries out construction work on a sub-contract.
Earlier when contacted, Sanjay Kumar, project manager of Toma Constructions, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have continuously filled up the potholes, but it re-emerges as the repairs are temporary.”
