Repair to flood-hit roads in Sylhet region still a far cry

OUR CORRESPONDENT

SYLHET, Nov 21: The authorities concerned are yet to take any measure to repair or reconstruct the roads damaged badly by floods in Sylhet region, local people have alleged.
Officials concerned said they carried out some repair work on the damaged points on the roads, but could not make any complete repair for not getting the budget allocation.
Floods caused massive damage to roads in all four districts of Sylhet division, disrupting traffic on many points. But, the public call for the repair to the roads is going unheeded.
When contacted, Amir Hossain, executive engineer at the Roads and Highways Department in Sylhet, told this correspondent that they informed the higher authorities of the requirement of Tk 385 crore for repairing 55-km roads in the district.
"We're yet to get any sanction for repair to these roads, he said.
Talking to this correspondent, Sylhet LGED executive engineer Faruque Hossain said they got only Tk 450 million (45 crore) for 53 schemes in the district.
According to an official report, severe floods badly damaged 1,179-km rural roads of the division, causing a loss of Tk 3.00 billion.
The report mentions that the highest 818-km roads were damaged in Sunamganj and the lowest 34-km in Moulvibazar. Innumerable potholes were developed on the roads.
In Sylhet district, the loss was estimated at Tk 800 million as 261.57-km roads in 13 upazilas have been affected by the floods.
In Habiganj, floods damaged 65.86-km roads in eight upazilas of the district, incurring a loss of Tk 120 million. [email protected]