Ongoing BRT project make major road a death trap in Dhaka
The ongoing work of multiple developmental projects in the capital is making city roads messy and faulty, resulting in many accidents and casualties
On a recent evening, Mahfuz was heading out on his bike to a friend's house in Dhaka's Uttara with a pillion rider.
Just after passing the airport, his bike hit a bump on the road. The bump was created by uneven paving of the road, one side was higher by at least six inches than the other and indistinguishable in the low light and dark colour of the asphalt on the road. Mahfuz and his rider had a tumble on the road, both injured critically.
Both his rider's legs got fractured in several places and when they were brought to the hospital, the doctor advised amputation of his legs. Mahfuz sustained bad injuries as well but no fractures.
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"Due to low visibility at night, I couldn't see the highly uneven surfaces of the road. There were no cautionary signs or warnings for road users," said Mahfuz, who is still in trauma from the incident.
Besides, there was sand and gravel scattered on the road that made a bike or any vehicle prone to skids or loss of traction, he said.
"Just a few moments after my accident, another biker hit the same bump and was unconscious from his injuries", said Babu, quoting a police officer.
Rafiqul Islam, a driver, said, "At some places in Uttara, the road surface is so bumpy that a car can easily overturn if not driven with a lot of care.
The very poor condition of the road in the area is caused by the ongoing work of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line-3 that is going on in Uttara. It is the duty of the project authority to maintain the roads in the project area.
Safiqul Islam, managing director of Dhaka BRT Company Limited, said, "We are now very serious about safety issues. The potholes, bumps and uneven surfaces on the roads are being fixed around the project area. A divider between the high and low level roads will be built. Traffic signs, including alert signs will be placed."
Meanwhile, the BRT project authority's negligence has caused a number of accidents where at least six people lost their lives. In the latest accident on 15 August, a girder of the Uttara BRT-3 project fell on a car, killing five of a family on the spot and injuring two others.
The long-drawn work on the BRT project has caused immense suffering for people using the road. In 2012, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved this project involving Tk2,040 crore. It was supposed to be completed in December 2016 but instead was extended till 30 June 2020 in two phases.
As the work was not completed by 2020, the tenure was extended again till June this year. In the meantime, the project budget was revised to Tk4,268. 32 crores.
But the work has not been completed in due time. People concerned with the project now hope to complete all work by 31 December.
Road safety is compromised by other projects too
Another ongoing mega project in Dhaka is the metro rail project. Road safety is being hampered by this project too. Accidents frequently occur on the project's adjacent roads, especially in Karwanbazar and Bijoy Sarani areas.
Brick chips, gravel, sand, and mud are scattered over the road, making it so slippery that bike riders and drivers of other vehicles lose control as they hit the brakes.
A victim, Md Humayun, said, "I was going home from the office at night on 30 July. Crossing Bijoy Sarani towards Agargaon, I had to make a hard stop and my wheels skidded on the small pebbles scattered on the road. I hit the ground instantly with my bike."
"I narrowly escaped serious injury as I was travelling relatively slowly. My right hand was injured with a fractured elbow," he added.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, company secretary of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, said, "We try to repair the roads as soon as the work ends. We understand that people are suffering due to road conditions. From now on, we will be more cautious about keeping roads clean and safe for traffic near the project area."
In addition, various service providers in the capital conduct development and maintenance work by digging up roads around the year. They are also indifferent to providing safety to passers-by and traffic by keeping construction materials on roads.
The Business Standard has spoken to a number of people who fell prey to such negligence of the authorities.
Expressing their outrage, they said the roads near a project area are kept in a condition that accidents were just a matter of time. Most of the accidents remain unreported as the victims consider following up too much of a hassle.
Md Abdus Sattar, General Manager of Green Line, a transport company that operates long-distance buses and water vessels, said, "There are open manholes on the road. The wheels and suspensions of vehicles may get severely damaged or broken after hitting such holes. There is also a possibility of fatal accidents."
Despite mounting complaints, the two city corporations – Dhaka North and South – are not taking effective measures to resolve these issues.
Md Selim Reza, the chief executive officer of Dhaka North, said, "Actually we provide permission to the service providing companies on some conditions, which include completing the work in due time and conducting work in a way that causes less public suffering."
However, they sometimes delay the work and also induce public suffering by breaking conditions, he said, adding, "we take action against them in that case."
"Sometimes we fail to take steps due to limited resources, but we are being stricter on the road safety issue. No public suffering will be allowed in the city," the Dhaka North CEO added.
