Dhaka alleys in disrepair: Dwellers suffer, city corps cite fund crunch

The entire 6km road in the Mukti Housing area of Dakshin Pirerbagh in Mirpur is muddy and filled with potholes. When it rains, vehicles have to negotiate the road stretch with risks for the next two to three days.

"For the past few months, I have been parking my car at Shewrapara because the road conditions are so bad that vehicles cannot move," Selim Khan, a resident in that area, which falls under the Dhaka North City Corporation, told The Business Standard.

"When anyone uses rickshaws, he gets hurt," he said while sharing the unbearable suffering that people in Dhaka undergo every day.

Lalbagh Road and most of the surrounding lanes in the Lalbagh area under the Dhaka South City Corporation are damaged and unfit for traffic.

Yasmin Akhter, a resident, told TBS that the roads in the area have either been cut, broken, or are filled with potholes. Even when someone walks, he is afraid that vehicles will splash dirty water on him.

Pirerbagh and Lalbagh are not exceptions. This picture represents the condition of most roads in the neighbourhoods under the Dhaka city corporations. While the main roads may be in somewhat good condition, it is challenging to use many of the lanes and alleyways due to the lack of renovation and construction.

Last month, this correspondent visited approximately 80km of alleyways in at least 25 areas and discovered that around 60km of them are damaged and filled with big potholes.

Urban experts say the metro rail, elevated expressway, and several flyovers have been opened to enhance the capital's communication system, but the condition of the roads, which are the primary means of communication, has remained neglected.

Professor Md Akter Mahmud, of the urban and regional planning department at Jahangirnagar University, told TBS that in some areas, roads are repaired repeatedly after just a few days, while in other places, no repairs have been done for an extended period.

"This situation also leads to social injustice, as the city corporations spend money, but the repairs do not effectively address the issues due to their faulty execution," he added.

There are around 4,235km of roads with varying widths under the two Dhaka city corporations, but a significant portion of them is in a state of disrepair and unsuitable for communication. Even on the main roads, many sections are damaged or filled with potholes, and manhole lids are uneven, posing further challenges to commuters.

Almost one-third of the budget of the city corporations is allocated to traffic infrastructure, which includes the construction and renovation of roads and sidewalks. These allocations have seen a gradual increase over the past few years.

A review of budgets revealed that the two city corporations have spent approximately Tk7,408 crore – Dhaka North around Tk4,619 crore and Dhaka South around Tk2,789 crore – on road construction and repair, as well as the construction and maintenance of traffic infrastructure over the course of five years.

According to Dhaka North officials, Tk3,610 crore were spent in the last five years only for the construction and repair of roads. 

In the current fiscal year, Dhaka South has earmarked Tk424.05 crore for the maintenance and development of road and traffic infrastructure. In addition, about Tk1,008 crore has been allocated for the development of road and traffic infrastructure in different areas in several government and foreign aid projects.

Dhaka North's allocations stood at Tk770.70 crore and Tk1,795.21 crore, respectively.

Dhaka North says it will not undertake the development of roads that are less than 20 feet wide. Each ward has a specific allocation for repairing or constructing the necessary roads. This is why not all roads can be repaired.

Dhaka South is of the view that with the amount allocated in each ward, it is not possible to repair all the necessary roads. So some roads are in poor condition.

"Most of our main roads are fine. The alley roads are being repaired in stages according to the importance and extent of damage," Md Khairul Baker, superintending engineer at Dhaka South, told TBS.

"Due to the digging up of roads by various organisations and waterlogging, those roads are quickly damaged. This year, the allocation for road repair and construction has also increased. After the next 3-4 years, damaged roads may not be found," he added.

Md Selim Reza, chief executive officer at Dhaka North, said the utility lines and drains cannot be properly prepared on roads less than 20 feet wide. Roads with a width of more than 20 feet also need to be renovated and constructed anew at various places.

"We are preparing a list of the damaged roads and making development plans for them. All roads will be repaired in phases. Part by part, we will repair all alley roads. Our yearly allocation is not sufficient," he told TBS.

According to officials at the city corporations, the length of roads under their jurisdiction is around 1,650km in Dhaka South and around 2,585km in Dhaka North. Several engineers of two city corporations say that more than 60% of the roads need to be repaired.

In several areas of Dhaka North, such as Mirpur-11,12, Pirerbagh, Kafrul, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Mohammadpur, Middle Badda, Adarsh Nagar, Shahjadpur, Gudaraghat, Gulshan-1, Uttarkhan, Dakshinkhan, and Harirampur, it can be seen that a large part of the roads is rundown. Around 60% of the roads need to be repaired or reconstructed.

Under Dhaka South, asphalt (bitumen) in alleyways in Old Dhaka, Lalbagh, Babubazar, Chawkbazar, Kadmatoli, Gandaria, Gopipara, Jatrabari, Bangshal, Nazirabazar, Dhanmondi, Free School Street, Green Road, Meradia, Motijheel, Shantinagar, Azimpur, Jurain, and several areas has come off, leading to the appearance of small potholes. In these areas, at least 70% of the roads have developed significant potholes as a result of the peeling off of the carpeting, pitch, stones, and sand.

At least six engineers said the city corporations work on alleyways on the basis of importance, mainly due to a lack of funds. If a road is properly developed, it should last for at least 10 years. But now, within one and a half to two years, the condition of a good road deteriorates.

Every year, Dhaka North and Dhaka South allocate Tk6 crore and Tk2 crore, respectively, for road renovation and construction in each ward. Therefore, the city corporations prioritise the most important roads of the year and work on them.

Dewan Abdul Mannan, councillor of Ward-11 in Mirpur Paikpara, told TBS that the work of 2-3 roads can be done with the money allocated to each ward every year. But 12 to 15 roads need to be reconstructed. Therefore, due to the shortage of funds, it is not possible to build the rest of the roads.

"Most of the roads in my area have been repaired, but some remain vulnerable," Mohammad Nazrul Islam, councillor at Ward 16 in Green Road, Kathalbagan area, told TBS.

"It is not possible to repair all damaged roads within a year because the city corporation allocates Tk2 crore for maintenance, repair, and construction of roads," he added.

He said at least Tk50-60 crore is needed to repair and build the damaged roads.

What is the solution?

Md Shamsul Hoque, a communication expert and professor in the civil engineering department at Buet, told TBS the two mayors tried to keep the Dhaka roads in good condition and spent money but it did not last due to a lack of maintenance.

He said, "If you invest in any road, it may be sustained for 4-5 years, but the people are suffering after a few days due to the unnecessary digging and low-quality work of various organisations.

"If Dhaka roads are to be made sustainable, waterlogging must be eliminated. Random development must be stopped. Investments are being made in road construction and rehabilitation, but they are not sustainable."

This expert said, "We are getting smart, but our thinking is totally unsmart. Most of our roads are made of concrete, which is definitely a good thing, but even those roads are not sustainable due to digging and waterlogging."

Md Akter Mahmud, professor at the urban and regional planning department of Jahangirnagar University, told TBS, "We need to categorise the roads and update the database regularly by attaching the ID of each road. According to this database, when a road has been repaired or constructed, a budget should be prepared. It will not have uneven development."

The urban planner said until the drainage system is improved, it will not be possible to sustain roads.

"Ensuring the quality of road construction and doing away with disparities in construction must be looked to. This is because while much attention is paid to our developed areas, less attention is paid to the less developed areas," he added.