People in port city of Chittagong have been suffering from dilapidated or incomplete roads due to failure of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) to complete the infrastructural work.
The citizens have alleged that a lack of collaboration among Chittagong Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (Wasa), CCC, Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) and Bangladesh Telephone and Communication Limited has resulted in the slow progress of their development, thus leading to prolonged period of infrastructure work which generates more dust.
According to CCC sources, Chittagong city has around 800km of pacca road under the corporation’s jurisdiction. This problem arose due to unplanned digging on the roads, and a lack of cooperation between public service institutions.
Sources say, Chittagong Wasa had begun the construction work of a new pipeline, supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), with the aim to provide fresh water for all. However, the construction work is still going on in the city.
Furthermore, CDA has begun work on Lalkhan Bazar-Muradpur flyover where CCC has again failed to repair the cut sections of the road despite Wasa having completed the development work on time, sources say.
Wasa sources say the authorities have covered the road using only soil, bricks and sand while they were waiting for renovation work by the city corporation. However, even this small development goes in vain as it is subject to traffic on a regular basis.
While visiting areas including the city’s GEC intersection, Wasa circle, Agrabad, Ambagan, Railway Station Road, New Market, BRTC, Bahaddarhat, and Lalkhan Bazar, this correspondent noted the citizens had to use their hand or mask to cover their face from the dust in the air.
Besides, CCC’s work has clogged up roadside spaces in different areas, with wastage piling up from the drains, which, when dried up, causes even more difficulties for commuters.
“It has been more than one and a half month since Wasa cut the road from Agrabad to Chowmuhony and completed their duty but CCC is yet to carpet the road,” said Al Masud, an accountant at a private company in Agrabad area.
M Kader, a traffic police constable at GEC intersection, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Although I use masks during my duty in the area, I still struggle to merely breath in the dusty environment.”
Chittagong Wasa’s Chief Engineer Ezaz Rasul told the Dhaka Tribune: “We already paid the money before the pipeline work began. We don’t know why CCC has not yet renovated the roads.”
CCC’s Executive Engineer Kamrul Islam says the renovation work has begun in different areas of the city, and CCC staff members have begun carpeting the roads. He added that the repair work would be completed as early as possible and that the waste from roadside sewer would be cleaned in the nighttime.
Health hazards
There are also grave health risks arising from the dusty environment, which is a result of unfinished infrastructural work.
People are suffering from the dusty environment caused by these incomplete projects which leave materials out in the open and thus expose the people to even more dust.
This has led to serious air pollution and posed threats to public health. Various diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, and respiratory problems double during such dusty weather, physicians say.
