Mud, potholes turn Jashore-Khulna highway into a traffic nightmare, businesses suffer

Due to the usual rainfall of the season, the Jashore-Khulna Highway has become hazardous by developing numerous potholes across various parts, posing serious risks to the plying of heavy vehicles as well as commuting, while renovation of the road is currently ongoing.

Vehicles are required to move at a reduced speed in the dilapidated sections of the highway to avoid accidents, which result in long tailbacks, and in unusual delays in trips, which sometimes extend to 2–3 days longer than usual.

Consequently, transportation of businesses in Jashore, Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat, including that of the land and river ports in the districts that use the highway to carry goods, is severely affected, locals say.

During a recent visit to the highway, it was discovered that a five-kilometre segment of the road from Basundiya to Chengutia areas in Jashore has become highly perilous for vehicles. Persistent rainfall over the past few days has created large potholes in that part.

Meanwhile, the Roads and Highways Department said renovation of the highway will take one and a half years to complete.

The Jashore-Khulna Highway is one of the country's most important and busiest roads, which serves as the main route connecting the Benapole land port, Noapara river port, Mongla sea port, and Bhomra land port. The government took the initiative to expand and reconstruct the road in 2017. Although the work was extended several times and completed in 2023, various parts of the road collapsed within a few months.

A resident of the Prembagh area of the highway in Jashore, Abdus Sabur, told The Business Standard, "The road has been under development for the last 3–4 years. However, the condition of the road is deteriorating at one end while the renovation work is ongoing at the other end. We are suffering a lot."

A truck driver in Jashore, Nazrul Islam, said, "The Rupdia-Noapara part of the highway is full of potholes, and the section from Chengutia to Basundia areas has become completely broken. Due to the formation of knee-deep mud on the road, it has become difficult for vehicles to move."

 He said they have to get stuck in jams for two to three days while making trips via the highway. "Large vehicles, such as buses and trucks, frequently encounter minor accidents like overturning or becoming trapped in mud, resulting in damage to their machinery."

Talking to TBS, a local resident, Rajib Hossain, complained that though the government spent crores of taka to repair the highway, the work was not up to the scale due to irregularities, and that is why the road has been filled with potholes.

Raju Ahmed, manager of Noapara Group, an importer from Noapara Industrial City in Jashore, told TBS, "Around 70% of the country's total demand for imported fertiliser is unloaded and supplied to various districts from this Noapara port. But, the dilapidating condition of the Jashore-Khulna Highway is seriously disrupting the supply of fertiliser from here. In particular, the 5-kilometre Chengutia-Basundia stretch is in such poor condition that truck owners refuse to carry loads."

He said traders as well as farmers are facing severe losses due to the disruption in fertiliser supply during this peak season of farming.

Nure Alam Babu, a leader of the Noapara Fertiliser, Cement and Food Grains Traders' Association, told TBS that the already dilapidating condition of the Jashore-Khulna highway has worsened further due to continuous rains. "The road has been damaged to such an extent that now freight trucks are unable to ply. As a result, trade and commerce centred around the Noapara river port have almost come to a standstill, causing huge losses to traders."

The Roads and Highways Department said the construction of roads using concrete mixtures is taking place across various parts of the highway, and it is expected that the ongoing public suffering will come to an end once the work is completed.

Talking to TBS, Executive Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department, Jashore, Golam Kibria said the quality of the soil on the highway is subpar, which deteriorates quickly due to the movement of overloaded vehicles. Therefore, concrete mixture roads are being constructed based on the recommendations of Buet.

"It will take one and a half years to complete the entire project," he said. 

According to the Roads and Highways Department, Tk321 crore has already been spent on the construction of a 38-kilometre highway from Palbari intersection in Jashore town to Rajghat in Abhaynagar upazila. New work worth another Tk172 crore is underway.