City roads in bad shape
Saturday, 28 August 2010
DHAKA city is the biggest point of urban concentration in Bangladesh. It is also the hub or staging area for the greater part of the economic and commercial activities of the country. It should be obvious, therefore, that its thoroughfares, roads and lanes need to be in good shape round the year for movement of its residents and also of its commercial and related cargoes. Ease of movement on the roads translate into greater transportation efficiency for businesses reducing costs. But as the residents of this hapless city know it well from their own experiences, a large part of its road infrastructures are now in a bad shape. The road cannot be accepted as even reasonably fit for the smooth movement of different transporters.
In a number of heavily populated areas of the city, the roads are at times found to be dug up for laying storm sewers and sewerage lines; huge excavations are made on the roads for the purpose. The residents of these areas have to endure very great hardships during such periods. They probably endure the same in the hope that the diggings will finally lead to their getting better facilities for drainage and sewer lines operations. But long after the seemingly completion of works in a number of such areas, the dug-up roads are found to be hardly brought back to their previous shape. This has been the experience of the city dwellers in an uninterrupted sequence over the years.
The patch-up works from time to time to remake the roads are hardly proving to be of any effective for the city population in most cases in the absence of proper repaving or carpeting. The ones who have to walk on these roads find the experience a miserable one and rickshaws charge double or more than the normal fares to agree to move on such roads. The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is obliged as per rules to repave such roads mandatorily within 28 days after the completion of work by different utility agencies. But the rule has hardly any impact in most cases. It is disregarded in most cases.
As the situation stands now, roads in varying degrees remain, thus, in deplorable conditions at many areas of the city. And the problems here have aggravated because of the failure of the concerned authorities to take timely operation and maintenance (O&M) works in proper ways. With most roads in the city being in a bad shape now, the extent of the problem should be clear. The need for addressing the problems at the fastest is very urgent. The roads in many places are not only pot holed but there are also ditches in the surfaces that make the movement of all type of vehicles quite hazardous. The rain waters remaining in the holes and ditches add to the miseries of pedestrians. Understandably, traffic has to crawl through such poor road surfaces and everybody gets delayed. The severe traffic congestion and accidents in the city have a relationship with such tattered roads. Besides, these roads without carpeting are nonetheless getting used round the clock by heavy vehicles and breaking down more and more as a result contributing to further risks of accidents and congestion.
The damaged roads of the city are a developmental concern with economic implications. A report in this paper sometime ago quoted the findings of a study that some Taka 200 billion a year are lost in Dhaka city from poor traffic movement. How much of that loss is due to the wretched physical conditions of the roads? It must be substantial indeed. Considering this factor alone, urgent execution of works is needed to get the damaged roads back into shape.
In a number of heavily populated areas of the city, the roads are at times found to be dug up for laying storm sewers and sewerage lines; huge excavations are made on the roads for the purpose. The residents of these areas have to endure very great hardships during such periods. They probably endure the same in the hope that the diggings will finally lead to their getting better facilities for drainage and sewer lines operations. But long after the seemingly completion of works in a number of such areas, the dug-up roads are found to be hardly brought back to their previous shape. This has been the experience of the city dwellers in an uninterrupted sequence over the years.
The patch-up works from time to time to remake the roads are hardly proving to be of any effective for the city population in most cases in the absence of proper repaving or carpeting. The ones who have to walk on these roads find the experience a miserable one and rickshaws charge double or more than the normal fares to agree to move on such roads. The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is obliged as per rules to repave such roads mandatorily within 28 days after the completion of work by different utility agencies. But the rule has hardly any impact in most cases. It is disregarded in most cases.
As the situation stands now, roads in varying degrees remain, thus, in deplorable conditions at many areas of the city. And the problems here have aggravated because of the failure of the concerned authorities to take timely operation and maintenance (O&M) works in proper ways. With most roads in the city being in a bad shape now, the extent of the problem should be clear. The need for addressing the problems at the fastest is very urgent. The roads in many places are not only pot holed but there are also ditches in the surfaces that make the movement of all type of vehicles quite hazardous. The rain waters remaining in the holes and ditches add to the miseries of pedestrians. Understandably, traffic has to crawl through such poor road surfaces and everybody gets delayed. The severe traffic congestion and accidents in the city have a relationship with such tattered roads. Besides, these roads without carpeting are nonetheless getting used round the clock by heavy vehicles and breaking down more and more as a result contributing to further risks of accidents and congestion.
The damaged roads of the city are a developmental concern with economic implications. A report in this paper sometime ago quoted the findings of a study that some Taka 200 billion a year are lost in Dhaka city from poor traffic movement. How much of that loss is due to the wretched physical conditions of the roads? It must be substantial indeed. Considering this factor alone, urgent execution of works is needed to get the damaged roads back into shape.