Road digging leaves city people gasping

An orgy of erratic road digging in different areas in the capital, apparently aimed at nothing other than improving utility services, leaves local people wondering when they would come out of the acute suffering they have been put to.
Nobody knows when and how the digging will end as the utility providers keep their eyes shut to people’s sufferings and lack coordination among themselves, affected people have alleged. 
If an agency start digging a certain road, immediately another one fills it to be dug by yet another, which leaves the road uncomfortable for years together.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, Dhaka Power Distribution Company, Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited, Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited and the city corporations dig and fill the roads under their jurisdiction by turns.
The government last year, to reduce such public sufferings, tasked the city mayors with coordinating the development workers in the city but nothing positive outcome has been noticed so far.
During visits to different areas of Malibagh, Mouchak, Santibagh, Mogbazar, Mirpur, Shewrapara, Gulshan, Badda, Banani and some other areas, different utility agencies were seen upgrading their supply line under or beside the roads.
Among these areas, Malibagh, Mouchak and Santinagar are in a terrible mess as the flyover contractor is yet to complete their work even after missing deadlines one after another.
In January last, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved revision of the Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover project with an extension of 18 months till June 2017 and increased the cost by Tk 446.20 crore, raising the overall project cost to Tk 1,218.90 crore.
The project, which was scheduled to be completed within December 2015, started in 2013 instead of the original schedule of 2011.
Anower Hossain at Malibagh says that since the beginning of the construction work they have been facing the difficulties as the road they use has gone under the flyover.
This year at least three utility authorities have dug the road, he says, adding that 10 days after DPDC completed setting their under-ground cable line, the road has been dug again for repairing drainage line.
‘If the service providers had coordination and could complete work in time, public sufferings would surely be less,’ Anower thinks.
‘Sometimes the contractor dig the roads open and sometimes block them,’ says Nuru Hossain, a garment businessman at Malibagh, adding that it causes traffic congestion for hours.
He found that because of the dilapidated road for so long a time, many businessmen were forced to close their business while others were counting losses.
Many traders in the area allege that they can hardly sell any product in a day because of the bad condition of the road and that is why they declared discount up to 50 per cent on their goods.
Sometimes, locals say, during digging sewerage line and surface water line became merged, flooding the road where filthy water remain stagnant for about a month.
Abdus Salam, a security guard of a bank of the area, can count at least 8/10 rickshaw accidents because of the under-water holes. 
Since Tuesday, the construction firm stopped transport movement from Mogbazar to Malibagh while traffic from Santinagar to Malibagh has remained suspended for more than 10 days.
In other parts of the city, people face acute traffic congestion due to road digging, especially at Gabtoli and Mirpur, where people face hours-long traffic jam.
Habibur Rahman, project director of Toma Group, who has been building the Malibagh-Mouchak portion of the flyover said due to rain traffic was halted on the road.
‘We will complete the flyover by June 30 and then repair of the roads under the flyover,’ he said, adding that out of safety concern they did not allow traffic bellow the flyover.
Dhaka South City Corporation chief engineer Farazi Shahabuddin Ahmed, however, blamed early rain for the public sufferings.
He said 75 per cent of their drainage construction had been completed and the rest would be completed by June. 

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