Khamarbari-Mirpur Road, without lights, turns snatching hotspot
DNCC says it will take time – up to December this year – to install lights on the road
On an early night last month, the Hasina-Jewel couple were going to Khamarbari from Agargaon in the capital by rickshaw. The long road, beneath the under-construction metrorail line, was completely dark as there was no street light there. Vehicles were seen passing infrequently, their headlights being the only sources of light.
Hasina and Jewel were in a casual mood. They were used to experiencing such a dark situation in the area for a long. However, that night was not usual for them. Within five minutes of their journey, they became victims of a crime.
A motorcyclist came hurriedly from the rear, snatched Hasina's valuable smartphone and ran away in the blink of an eye. The newly-married couple shouted for minutes but failed to identify the motorcycle number and the rider due mainly to the absence of street lights. They, however, did not file any diary or case with the police station, thinking that it would not bring about any solution.
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"Where is our security? More dangerous things could also have happened to us. No one would know even if a murder occurred here," Hasina told The Business Standard, expressing her frustration.
The incident relating to the couple is one of dozens of such problems commuters are facing on dark roads in similar worrisome conditions. Besides, the area has become a free zone for drug addicts.
A recent visit by this correspondent to the Khamarbari-Mirpur 10 Road found the area completely dark, and other nearby roads such as those adjacent to the Planning Commission office and Agargaon to Chandrima Udyan intersection a little lighted. However, none of these areas was good for comfortable movement.
Only the Agargaon-Mohakhali bypass road was seen to have enough light.
Illias Hossain commutes regularly through the Shewrapara-Khamarbari Road. He told TBS that a slight rainfall turns the broken roads worse. "The most dangerous things here are the presence of snatchers and roughnecks." He also suffered through a snatching incident once.
"I was returning home at night recently. A group of robbers seized my smartphone and purse," said Shaheda Begum, an NGO worker. "I was not aware of the unlighted roads. Now I feel the city is not secure for us at all."
When contacted, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station officer-in-Charge Utpal Barua told TBS that the police had received several complaints of snatching on the road earlier. "However, we did not get such complaints during Ramadan."
"We have deployed a night patrol force in this area. We are aware of security. If someone complains, we take action accordingly."
Although the Dhaka North City Corporation inaugurated the installation of state-of-the-art smart LED lights on DNCC roads under a Tk319 crore project in January last year, the widely-used Khamarbari-Mirpur-10 is still in darkness.
Metrorail work is about to be completed in the Agargaon area and most of the roads there have been opened to vehicles, yet street lights have not been installed.
Contacted by TBS, Executive Engineer of the city corporation Md Rafiqul Islam said that the installation of street lights is going on. Out of 14 phases, work on eight phases has been completed, he said, adding that several new roads were included later.
"Due to the metrorail work, Khamarbari-Mirpur-10 Road along with others did not get the lights," he explained. As he put it, "We have already held a meeting on bringing these roads under the coverage of lights. Hopefully, the installation of street lights on this road will be completed by December this year."
When asked whether any temporary solution was in the works for the snatching-prone road, he ruled out any such possibility. "The lights will be installed through the project in good time," he said.
