The main roads have reached such a bad condition in Bandarban’s Naikhangchhari upazila town that travelling along them is nothing but a nightmare for people because these roads have been fraught with potholes as a result of no maintenance for a few years.
One of the roads is Naikhangchhari Canal Bridge-Chakdala Link Road. This road plays a vital role in communications in the upazila. It is connected with the VIP road and five other unions in the upazila; around nine-kilometre of which is totally unusable. Yet, people use it because they do not have any alternative.
Thousands of people, including students and teachers fall into a miserable state when they travel along this road. Their sufferings know no bounds particularly during or after rains because the potholes remain invisible then, they said.
They pointed out that the noticeable importance of this road came up for the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recently when tension arose on Bangladesh-Myanmar border. This road was then used for regular communications with Chakdhala Border Observation Post (BOP), Ashartoli BOP and Fultoli BOP.
They added that there are over 50 roads riddled with potholes, which are in desperate need of repairs for a few years, in the upazila town.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Naikhangchhari Upazila Awami League leader Imran said: “The upazila office of the local government and engineering department (LGED) often gauge this road, but they never come up with a move to repair it.”
Local police say policing has slowed down in the district because of the miserable condition of this road.
Naikhagchhari police station Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said: “It is quite difficult for us to patrol, let alone move from one place to another due to the miserable condition of this vital road in the upazila.”
Bandarban Roads and Highway Department’s Executive Engineer Fazlul Haq was asked about the miserable conditions of the roads in the upazila, he said: “We are failing to begin road maintenance in the upazila due to rain. However, the road repairs will be started soon after the rains recedes.”
