With the pothole-riddled stretches, which are covered with slush, stones and dust, part of the Malibagh DIT Road in the capital is just unusable for any sort of vehicles.
The road’s dilapidated conditions have turned commuting into a nightmarish experience for the city dwellers due to flooding by sewage water.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, many commuters expressed their concern over the uninterested attitude of the authorities concerned for creating death traps for passengers of small vehicles like CNG run auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, motorcycles and human-haulers.
Though the road has flooded by the sewage water about one month ago, the authorities concerned have not taken initiative to stop the hazard for traffic movement, they said.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are responsible for managing and monitoring the city’s sewerage and drainage systems.
“Though a dry season is going on, the road remains under water for about one month. The authorities have not taken steps to repair the sewage,” said Nasir Uddin, a ticket manager of Asia Enterprise, a bus service which ply its vehicles on the DIT Road.
The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), however, repaired the road about two months ago, but its condition remains as bad as before.
Many potholes have been created again. Due to the sewage water, the road has become very risky to drive vehicles, said Rafique Uddin, a CNG auto-rickshaw driver.
“Sometimes, wheels of the vehicles stuck into the potholes,” he said.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Ansar Ali Khan said he was not aware of the matter.
“I will direct the officials concerned of the engineering department to find out the problem. Then, necessary steps will be taken immediately,” he said.
Contacted, Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqseem A Khan, said he will also directed the Wasa officials concerned to inquire the spot.
“If there is any problem in the sewerage line, we will solve it immediately.”
