Rokeya Sarani stuck in construction horror
Construction never seems to finish, forcing commuters and residents to navigate area in daily nightmare
Constant road digging has been a part of the capital's Rokeya Sarani for the last couple of years – either by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) or by the Dhaka North City Corporation all through the year.
The absence of coordination and mismanagement of the agencies have effectively closed off one side of the road linked to two major traffic jam hotspots for the last seven months. The construction never seems to finish, forcing commuters and residents to navigate the area in what is properly a daily nightmare.
Prolonged construction work, including that of the metro rail project, installation of a sewerage system and blame game of the delay, has taken people's ordeals to the extreme in recent months.
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The construction mess began in 2020 when Dhaka Wasa appointed a contractor to construct a sewerage system on Rokeya Sarani — from Kazipara to Agargaon. In the middle of the project, the government handed over the supervision of the sewerage systems of Dhaka to the city corporations in December of the year, scrapping the Wasa project.
The Dhaka North subsequently appointed a new contractor to finish the project, but the Wasa-appointed contractor, seeking compensation for the work done, went to court, resulting in the project being put on hold from January till July this year.
Earlier on June, Mayor Atiqul Islam announced that the agency was prepared to finish the remaining work within four days. Since then one month has elapsed but the work is yet to be finished. On top of it, the authorities have begun digging up parts of the road in Shewrapara, further worsening conditions in the monsoon.
City corporation blames contractor
According to city corporation sources, the unfinished construction work in Kazipara, across a 90-metre area, will conclude in the next few days. On the other hand, the work in Shewrapara might take two more months.
After the government handed over the supervision of sewerage systems to the city corporations, the Dhaka Norht appointed Johnny Enterprises to complete the unfinished Wasa project with a budget of Tk16 crore. The company was due to finish the work by June this year, but failed to meet the deadline. It has been given an extension till December to finish the project.
"We want the entire project finished as soon as possible. The contractor has been given an extension till December. Hopefully, it will be completed by then," said Md Shahidul Islam, executive engineer of Region-4 of Dhaka North City Corporation.
Johny Enterprise's Sujan, who is supervising the road digging, declined to comment on the issue.
Maqbool Hossain, public relations officer of the Dhaka North, told TBS that usually road construction work is not allowed during the monsoon except for some very important project work.
A hellish experience
The scene in Kazipara now resembles that of a disaster-stricken area with a road full of holes and construction materials, including pipes, bricks, gravel and sand piled up on the side. One side of the road has been closed off since January this year since the court ban came into effect.
Besides, at least eight places on the eastern side of the road from Kazipara to Shewrapara have been dug up across half of the road, putting vehicles at risk of accidents. According to locals, the road was earlier dug up only a month ago.
Sahera Begum, a regular commuter on the road, said, "Excavations are carried out on this road throughout the year. We face one and a half hours of traffic jams every day in these places [Kazipara and Shewrapara] even when the road is in good condition. On top of it, the entire road is closed off at night due to the work on the metro rail project."
Shimul, a driver of Bihang Paribahan that plies on the road, said, "Due to the unevenness of the road, the bus engine breaks down quickly. Plying through the Shewrapara to Kazipara section for the past few months has been a hellish experience. The road gets waterlogged with just a little bit of rain, resulting in hours of gridlock."
The construction has affected roadside businesses as well, with many counting losses. Some have even closed down.
"Sales have dropped. There is no business here… customers do not want to come to the shops because of the broken road," said Jabed Hossain of Khal Electronics in Shewrapara.
