It's a road, but you can't see it. All you see is sewerage water and human waste overflowing it and household and commercial garbage piled up here and there and everywhere. There's no way to pass this 500 meter or so stretch without holding your nose. Hello from the south lane of Zahir Raihan Road, one of the capital's busiest!

After the construction of Mayor Hanif Flyover, the road, adjacent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was divided into three sections with ramps. This has damaged the road's drainage system, ultimately bringing the southernmost section of the road in its current condition.      

Whenever contacted, the authorities say they will begin the repair work in a month or two. In July, The Daily Star drew the attention of Munshi Abul Hashem, executive engineer (Zone-3) of Dhaka South City Corporation, to the problem. He then assured that the problem would be solved soon.

Al-Amin, an employee at a roadside workshop, said the problem started with the installation of the ramps.

Manager of Agrani Currier Service Abdul Baten said sewerage water often submerged the roads and the footpaths.

“A few days ago, two women fell from a rickshaw in that water. Later, they washed themselves from a nearby public toilet,” he said.

But the public toilet, operated by the DSCC, itself has no drainage system. “They [the authorities] drain human waste to the streets,” Baten added.

Baten is right, as this correspondent later found. However, Sabbir Hossain, who is in charge of the public toilet, denied it.

Asked about the poor state of the road, he said, “I have been hearing for the last one year that the road would be repaired soon. But nothing has happened.”

Munshi Abul Hashem said a Tk 250-crore project had been taken up to repair different roads of five zones under the DSCC. “It's taking time because we've to go through a lot of procedures.”  

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