Road digging in Dhaka to be stopped from Wednesday: Mayor Atiq

The Dhaka North City Corporation has asked various utility service providers to stop road digging from Wednesday until problems caused by their development work are solved.

"For the development work, various agencies including Wasa, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (Desco) have set up pits at different places on the roads, disrupting movement of people as well as traffic," Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam was speaking at a meeting at Nagar Bhaban on Tuesday on overhead cable relocation and repair of roads dug by various agencies.

Mayor said, "People suffer as service providers do not follow compliance while digging roads. So, no road digging will be allowed in the city from Wednesday until the next directive. Coordination is a must among service providing agencies who are involved in road digging."  

Atiqul Islam also asked the service providers to remove their respective overhead cables and taken those underground by June.

"All overhead cables will be taken underground by 30 June. After that, if any wire is seen hanging, it will be cut off," he added.

Mayor also said in October 2020, service providing agencies were asked to complete their development works by one year, but they failed to do it. The deadline will not be extended. 

"It will not be allowed that you (service providers) dig roads, set up pits high from pavements' surface in the name of development," he added.  

In the meeting, representatives from service providing agencies assured him of resolving the problems soon.