Pankaj Dastider
CHITTAGONG, Oct 11: Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) is all set to start construction of a 1.52-kilometre road to connect the Shah Amanat Karnaphuli 3rd Bridge with the Chandanpura Sirajuddowlla Road across Bakolia DC Road.
The access road is expected to ease traffic congestion in the city's Bahaddarhat area.
It would be the first and only project to be implemented in line with the city's 1995 master plan.
However, the 20-year tenure of the CDA's master plan expired in 2015 amid negligence by the state-run development agencies, including the CDA.
As the road has not been constructed in the last two decades, the people from seven upazilas of south Chittagong and, Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts have to enter the city through Bahaddarhat intersection that causes huge traffic congestion on the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway.
CDA chairman Abdus Salam prepared the Sirajuddowlla Road to Shah Amanat Bridge Access Road and got the Tk 2.05 billion project approved at the ECNEC meeting in September last year.
The access road is scheduled to be completed by June 2019.
Officials at the CDA said all preparations were completed to start construction of the access road. As per alignment of the 60-feet wide road, the authorities will have to demolish a 10-storey residential building near Mousumi residential area at West Bakolia ward in the city.
The access road will start from Chandanpura Mosjid point on the Sirajuddowlla Road and will proceed eastward besides the Pachu Meah Bari via DC Road, Bogerbil Shantinagar to meet the Bahaddarhat-Shah Amanat Karnaphuli 3rd Bridge approach road.
Project director Ahmed Moinuddin, who is an executive engineer of CDA, said pre-works of the project have already been completed and the construction is likely to start soon.
He said two persons have submitted petitions to the CDA, claiming compensation for land of the 10-storey building. There is also a case with the court over ownership of the land.
Sources said the CDA is likely to face legal complications as land owner of the 10-storey building has demanded compensation from the implementing authority.
Managing director of Haji Chand Meah Sawdagar Real Estate Col (retired) Md Iqbal said they constructed the 10-storey building with due permission of the CDA, but the authorities were planning to demolish the building.
As many as 37 flats of the building have been sold out to the buyers. So, they will face huge financial loss if the building is demolished, he said, adding that there was scope for diverting the road.
CDA chairman Abdus Salam said the building would be demolished to implement the project for ensuring hassle-free access of millions of people to the city.
He said the building was constructed illegally as the owners got CDA approval through hiding information about the building. "There is no way but to demolish it," he said.
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