The number of accidents on the 17km Dhamrai section of the Dhaka-Aricha Highway is increasing due to various reasons.
Everyone is taking great risks when using the highway. There are numerous cracks, and potholes on the 17km stretch of the highway. The section that begins at the Incepta factory and goes through Bathuli, Balitha, Srirampur and Kalampur is dilapidated.
Most of the accidents happen due to the presence of ditches in this section. However, no department has any information about which area is more prone to accidents or why these accidents occur.
However, many accident victims blame such ditches for their poor fate.
Nazmul Karim, one of the accident survivors, said he was riding a motorcycle on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway when his bike fell into a ditch. He fell to the ground and was seriously injured. He remained unemployed for about a month. According to him, he survived because the highway was empty. He has stopped riding motorcycles since the accident.
According to sources, many people died on the road when their vehicles collapsed into these ditches. Accidents take place regularly in this section. Truck and bus drivers also spoke to this reporter about the condition of the highway.
Shukkur Ali, who drives a passenger bus, said: "The bus often falls into potholes and jumps off the road. It is difficult to control buses in such situations.”
Badsha Mia, who drives a truck, said: “Loaded vehicles have to be driven slowly on highways. Potholes and bumpy roads are risky for such vehicles.”
The highway police do not have any data on the number of casualties or accidents that take place on the highway.
According to their information, from February 2023 to February 2024, at least 29 people died in 39 accidents on the 23km road from Kalampur in Dhamrai to Tara Bridge in Manikganj.
Information from Nirapad Sarak Chai, a non-profit organisation, shows that at least 22 people died and 140 people were injured in 95 accidents on the road from Islampur to Barbaria from January to December 2023.
According to the organization, the number of accidents has increased due to various reasons, including potholes, poor road condition of roads, reckless driving and unscientific road construction.
Two people were killed when they were overrun by a passenger bus in the Dhulivita area of the highway in December 2023. An investigation revealed that the men were standing in the main lane for buses, at risk to their lives. However, there has been no activity by the authorities to make passengers aware about not standing on the main lane.
Leading figures of the Nirapad Sarak Chai movement claim that there is no proper guardian of the roads and highways, and there is no monitoring.
Nahid Mia, president of the Dhamrai Upazila committee of Nirapad Sarak Chai movement, said: "The main cause of the accident that killed filmmakers Tareque Masud and Munier Mishuk on Manikganj Road some years ago was the poor construction of the road. Dhaka-Aricha Highway also has a lot of potholes. Vehicles plying on the road take risks. Speeding cars fall into potholes and jump off the roads. Motorcycles fall on the roads as well. The road has become a death pit.”
Sukhendu Basu, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gola Highway Police Station, said: "We are working on regular road monitoring. I have spoken to the officials of the Roads and Highways Department. They will fix all the potholes before Eid.”
Debashish Biswas, deputy assistant engineer of the Nayarhat office of the Roads and Highways Department, said: "There are not many potholes in my area. We have developed a program to fix the potholes that are there. Work has been done in some places already. But it will take some time.”
Referring to the financial involvement in repairs of the road, he said: “Actually, a lot of money is required to do the work. If the proposal in this regard is not passed by the high officials, it will be difficult to fix the problem. It is a matter of money.”
