Dilapidated Gazipur road's state worsens

If you go to Joina Bazar in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur presently, your journey may turn into a nightmare. If you get on a motor vehicle, it may get damaged any moment; if on a rickshaw, there is no guarantee of not falling off it; want to walk? Then there is a possibility for your dresses getting dirty with muddy water.

There is more. If there is a serious patient with you at the time of getting stuck on the battered road, you will not get instant transport facility to get to a hospital because there is no vehicle stand.

Nevertheless, thousands of people, especially students, are forced to use half a kilometre dilapidated portion of Joina Bazar-Kaoraid road on a daily basis as three RMG, two zipper and one cable factories; and a college, three secondary, two higher secondary, and four private schools, and five kindergartens are located in and outside the area.

The condition of the road, stretching 14 kilometres towards Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, started deteriorating one year ago, said locals, adding that the situation had worsened with monsoon starting this year.

The road has become completely muddy as bitumen has got removed from different places, they said.

Qamruzzaman Khokan, an assistant of a dentist in Joina Bazar, said the road has become unfit for traffic as most of the time it was clogged with rainwater.

Farhad Mahmud Talukder, a teacher of Abdul Awal University College in the area, said, “No one uses the road now until they have an alternative.”

Nazmul Hasan, a student of the institution, said, “My dresses become dirty right before I reach the college while passing through the road on foot.”

Mir Rokon Uddin, a local trader, said the CNG-run auto-rickshaw stand located on the road had to be shifted around one and a half months ago half kilometre away from the previous spot to avoid the situation.

Rashida Begum, a commuter, said, “Once I had to walk one kilometre to reach the auto-rickshaw stand. There is no one to mitigate our sufferings.”

Auto-rickshaw drivers Al Mamun and Qamruzzaman said they had to change many of the parts of their vehicles several times as they used to drive on the road for a month.

They could not cope with the situation even after increasing fares, they added.

Abdul Baten Sarker, newly elected chairman of Telihati Union Parishad in the upazila, said following the recent monthly meeting of Upazila Development Coordination Committee, the Union Parishad would make the road usable with bricks on a temporary basis before the upcoming Eid.

Sujayet Hossain, Sreepur upazila engineer, said they had applied to the LGRD for fund to reconstruct the road. Whenever they get it, they will start the project.