Lack of timely and proper maintenance has made the country's major highways dilapidated despite 53 per cent higher fund allocations for the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) over the last four years, officials said Saturday.
Experts said lack of timely action for maintenance, repair and rehabilitation has made the Bangladesh's major highways in a bad shape during this rainy season and Eid festival when millions of people take roads for travelling in a span of 10 days.
Officials of the ministry of communications said the RHD had received Tk 14 billion for repair, maintenance and rehabilitation works from the revenue budget of the current fiscal year (FY), 2014-15, some 53 per cent up from that in the FY 2011.
Four years ago, the state-owned road developer received only Tk 9.17 billion for the repair, maintenance and rehabilitation works of the roads and highways.
The allocation from the revenue budget for the road repair and maintenance was boosted to Tk 9.36 billion in FY 2012 with a significant fall to Tk 2.40 billion in the subsequent FY, 2013.
In addition to the allocation from the revenue budget, the government allocated Tk 3.93 billion in FY 2012 and Tk 490 million in FY 2013 from the development budget for the repair and maintenance works. Since FY 2014, the government discontinued to allocate money from the development budget.
In the just-concluded FY, 2014, the allocation from the revenue budget for the repair and maintenance of the roads and highways was Tk 13.38 billion considering the requirement of the RHD.
Bangladesh's major highways including Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh are in a bad shape due to lack of repair and maintenance and rehabilitation works during this rainy season affecting the home-bound people to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
Although some other national highways including Dhaka-Rajshahi, Dhaka-Rangpur, Dhaka-Barisal and Dhaka-Khulna are in a comparatively good shape, many regional roads are in a shambles due to lack of repair and maintenance, sources said.
"The communications minister has taken initiative to repair the highways just two to three weeks ago. During the rainy season, only 2-3 weeks are not enough to repair and maintain the roads across the country," said a senior RHD official.
Although the RHD staff are working day-night complying with the communications minister's direction, the roads repair does not last long due to rainfall and quick non-sustainable repair, he told the FE requesting anonymity.
Transport expert Prof Dr Shamsul Hoque said the money invested for half-hearted repair works during the rainy season is going into dust. "The current delayed repair work is not working properly due to lack of continuous initiative of the government for road repair, maintenance and rehabilitation."
"Actually when the roads become unusable with cracks, path holes and many small and large craters, the RHD goes for repair which is not sustainable," Prof Hoque, also a professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told the FE.
He suggested framing a year-long action plan for maintenance and repair works of the roads and highways across the country. "Going for repair when the road will be dilapidated is not a wise decision. You must continue regular maintenance of the roads."
Jahangir, a driver of the Mymensingh-bound Ena Paribahan, told the FE that he had noticed repair of the roads with some bricks, brick-bats and sand a week ago which hasn't lasted after some days due to rain and huge rush of the vehicles.
"I have seen a lot of path-holes, cracks and small and large craters in many places on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway," he added.
According to some travellers and bus drivers, both the under-construction Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane highways are still in the worst condition with lot of path-holes, craters and cracks.
Water-logging and markets and establishments on the road-sides have affected the security of the roads and highways resulting in huge tailbacks and hazards to the transports and passengers, an RHD official said.
"We have worked hard over the last two weeks day-night to make the roads usable so that the home-bound people reach their destinations before the Eid festival," he said adding "our workers are still working to repair different roads."
