The communications minister the other day found the south-eastern port city of Chittagong - the commercial capital of Bangladesh - unliveable as he saw in his own eyes the deplorable condition of roads and other utilities there.
Last year too, the minister was so irate, during his bumpy road journey from Gouripur of Daudkandi to Matlab in Chandpur district that he stopped his car midway and asked hundreds of onlookers why they had not yet called a hartal in the area in protest. He, however, assured them of repairing the road within three months.
But when the deadline expired with no move in sight in this regard, the media reminded the minister of his assurance. Within next seven days, the daily commuters on the Gouripur-Matlab road saw engineers and contractors doing the work which also took months to complete.
But now, the road, within less than one year of its repair, has developed cracks and potholes to return to its earlier shape. It means, the road was reconstructed with poor materials by the contractors who allegedly pocketed the lion's share of the money allocated for it.
The minister again swung into action at the prime minister's directive during this Eid. All roads and highways were repaired to some extent but it remains to be seen how long these will remain usable. None still knows who were present to monitor the repair works or to see whether the materials used were of the right quality or not.
When Bangladeshis dream of using the planned mega infrastructure project Padma Bridge to be completed, they are already at a loss over the poor condition of the existing roads and highways that constitute the lifeline of the economy. As a FE report said, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) got only 15 per cent of money it asked for in the 2013-14 budget for repair and reconstruction.
The RHD had sought Tk 108 billion but only Tk 12 billion was allocated. This was 15.94 per cent of the total demand. The RHD sources said this trend continued for the last six to seven years.
According to a study report 'Maintenance and Rehabilitation Needs Report 2014', due to shortage of required money, the RHD needed to carry out overall maintenance of 8,960 kilometres of roads. Of the total, 30 per cent of the roads would now need reconstruction -- partially or totally. The study said some 1,595km roads would need partial reconstruction while 960 kms full rebuilding in the current fiscal year. The RHD would need Tk 25 billion and Tk 21 billion respectively for these works.
But if road reconstruction could be done in time, requirement for overall maintenance would have been lowered to Tk 11 billion. The RHD would then need to maintain only 970 kms of roads.
A senior TV journalist recently went to Delhi and found there one of his Bengali acquaintances from Paschimbango. When asked, he said he has got the job of monitoring daily the condition of ten kilometres of a road in the Indian capital. He reports it to the designated higher authorities at the end of a day. Such monitoring and supervision have helped India maintain some of the best roads and highways in the world although some roads and highways in some states are still in a poor shape.
It is true that road transport has traditionally been the centre of the government's attention in the communication sector. It has been the fastest growing mode, with an average annual growth of 8 per cent for passengers and 9 per cent for freight since 1990s. Roads account for around 80 per cent of passenger and freight movement in Bangladesh.
The road network consists of four broad categories. The highways connect Dhaka city with divisional headquarters. Ports and international and regional highways form a five-way regional corridor (Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-northwest, Dhaka-Khulna, Dhaka-Sylhet and Khulna-northwest). Feeder roads connect upazila headquarters and growth centres with arterial road system and represent 34 per cent of the total road network.
Rural roads represent the largest part of Bangladesh's road system, constituting 61 per cent of the total road network. The RHD under the Ministry of Communications looks after national, regional and some of the feeder roads whereas major feeder roads and rural roads are looked after by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives.
The transport strategy of the government seeks to support economic development by expanding linkages in the internal transport system and promote local market integration, especially in rural areas. There is a sizable public investment (through development budget, ADP and revenue budget) in road construction (1.8 per cent of GDP).
Bangladesh today has an extensive road network (2,40,000 kilometres) surpassing other South Asian countries in total road density. An extensive rural road network has contributed greatly to economic growth and poverty reduction. Eighty per cent of the rural road network is composed of narrow roads in poor condition because they are built with poor compaction and without proper structures. Rural roads are mainly constructed under political pressure without proper planning. As a result, agricultural lands are being reduced day by day.
On the other hand, regional highways and feeder roads are generally constructed under the direction of political leaders without any feasibility study. These do not follow the master plan of roads or five-year plan or a long-term plan. Rural, feeder and regional highways can be termed 'political roads'.
If Bangladesh truly wants to attain its desired middle-income status, maintenance of highways and roads round the year must receive top priority of the government. Roads and highways are the arteries of the economy. The economy can never be expected to remain healthy if the arteries get blocked.
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